Maggie`s West London Centre, at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith, is conceived as a contrast to the main hospital building. It is a non-institutional building, an ‘open house` of 370 square metres, arranged over one and a half floors. It is both flexible and adaptable. It can be transparent or opaque, noisy or quiet, light or dark and has a kitchen at the heart of the structure. Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners hopes to create something that is more homely – more welcoming, more comfortable, more thought-provoking and more uplifting. The entrance is approached from within the hospital grounds via the car park. The building consists of four components: a wall that wraps around four sides, providing protection from its exposed location; the kitchen – a single height central space which is the main focus and heart of the building; annexes off the main space, conceived as meeting, sitting and consulting rooms; and a ‘floating roof` that over sails the outer wall and helps flood the space with light. Small courtyards are formed between the building and the wall for quiet spaces.
The landscaping integrate the Centre into the larger hospital site: mature plane trees indicate a route from the hospital to a public courtyard surrounded by white flowered magnolia trees.
The entrance to the Centre is approached from within the hospital grounds. The building is made up of four components: a wall that wraps around four sides, providing protection from its exposed location; a kitchen with a double-height central space that acts as the main focus and heart of the building; annexes off the main space, conceived as meeting, sitting and consulting rooms; and a ‘floating roof’ that appears to hover over the outer wall and acts as the enclosure to the heart of the building.
The sense of the building having a heart – reflecting the traditional notion of a home with a hearth – is manifested in the Centre’s kitchen area, and also through the inclusion of three fireplaces in the design of the building; the Centre is a retreat that is open to everyone.