Groundbreaking ceremony for Maggie’s Southampton

World Cancer Day – 4 February 2019 – marks the day of breaking ground for the brand-new Maggie’s cancer support centre, which will be based within Southampton General Hospital.

The groundbreaking ceremony was hosted by Maggie’s and the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust who were joined by the Mayor of Southampton.

Maggie’s – a national charity with other Centres around the UK – provides practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer and their family and friends. Built in the grounds of NHS cancer hospitals, Maggie’s Centres are places with professional staff on hand to offer the support people need.

Dr Carol Davis, Lead Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, said: “It will be fantastic to have a Maggie’s Centre within the hospital grounds. I’m particularly excited about the support that Maggie’s can give to patients and families facing complex decisions about treatment and care.”

The Centre designed by AL_A creates an oasis in the grounds of the Hospital: a woodland glade seemingly transported from the nearby New Forest. AL_A’s Centre is a disappearing building, using minimal structure and movable partitions to frame spaces of varying privacy and enclosure that nonetheless remain connected to the landscape. The ambition is for there to be the strong sense that the garden has always been here, a natural haven that provides seclusion and protection from the outside world.

Amanda Levete said: “Maggie’s Centres are ambitious with a purpose that can be felt and go to the very heart of architecture. Maggie’s’ approach is about creating a space that is uplifting and that changes the way people think about themselves and interact with others.”

The Centre is expected to open in early 2020.