Located at Singleton Hospital in Swansea, Maggie’s South West Wales will complement the treatment provided at the hospital, offering an evidence-based programme of support to help people through the emotional and practical complexities of a cancer diagnosis.

Maggie’s South West Wales is the tenth Maggie’s Centre and is one of five centres planned for England and Wales as part of the ambitious £15m Joy of Living fundraising campaign, spearheaded by Maggie’s patron Sarah Brown.

The stunning new centre was designed by Japanese architect Dr Kisho Kurokawa, of Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates. Sadly, Dr Kisho Kurokawa died in October 2007 but completed his outline scheme designs for Maggie’s South West Wales shortly before his death. Thore Garbers and Wendy James of Garbers & James met with him whilst still alive and undertook to deliver his project as executive architects. The building is surrounded by a landscape design created by Kim Wilkie that has been implemented by Terra Firma Consultancy Ltd.

Dr Kisho Kurokawa who was a great friend of Maggie Keswick Jencks (founder of Maggie’s), based his design on the concept of a cosmic whirlpool, representing a strong symbol of life, with everlasting forces swirling around a still centre. The spiral segments of the building conceptually engage alternate segments of earth and water, separated by shafts of warm light. Hence the concept provided a figure for the configuration of both the interior and the exterior of the building. The central elliptical drum provides a calm, warm social heart to the building, with the wings and associated external terraces providing more personal and focussed space from which to contemplate the landscape. The whole composition is in an elevated position, next to woodland, on the Singleton Hospital site.

The late Dr Kisho Kurokawa said: “The new Maggie’s Centre will come out of the earth and swing around with two arms like a rotating galaxy. One side will welcome the visitor and lead to the other side, which embraces nature, the trees, rocks and water. A place set apart, as Maggie said of a garden. The connection to the cosmos and contacts between East and West – two motives that Maggie and I shared – are in the design. I hope she would have liked it.”

Situated next to the South West Wales Cancer Centre at Singleton Hospital, Maggie’s will serve people living within the South West Wales Cancer Network. The network covers approximately 900,000 people within the regions of Aberystwyth, Haverfordwest, Swansea, Powys, Carmarthen, Llanelli, Neath, Port Talbot and Bridgend. In this area, there are more than 3,000 new cases of cancer a year. Uniquely, Maggie’s South West Wales will be the first centre to collaborate with the local Medical Genetics service to offer information and practical support to people who are at risk of cancer, based on family history. Maggie’s has had an interim facility on site since 2006.

The centre has been constructed by Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, as main contractor, supported by a number of specialist sub-contractors. The wider design team has included Arup, as structural engineers and KJTait as building services engineers. Ramboll has provided civil engineering support, and the cost consultant was Turner & Townsend.

Maggie's Centres are the vision of the designer and landscape architect Maggie Keswick Jencks which resulted from her own experience of cancer. She had a vision of beautiful buildings, located on hospital grounds, staffed by cancer professionals, where people could drop in at any time for the support and inspiration to not only cope with cancer, but to live their lives to the full. Maggie died in 1995, one year before the opening of the inaugural Maggie’s Edinburgh. Maggie’s has since pioneered a remarkable building design movement, bringing the contemplative architecture of cancer caring centres to hospital sites.

Maggie’s Chief Executive Laura Lee said: “People across the region have put a tremendous effort into fundraising to make this centre a reality and today the local community should be proud of the lasting legacy they have created for the thousands affected by the devastating consequences of cancer. We are also grateful to the Welsh Assembly who gave £1.5m to the project. Maggie’s proven programme of support will act as an antidote to the isolation and despair of a cancer diagnosis. The late architect Dr Kisho Kurokawa and landscape architect Kim Wilkie have conceived a truly unique environment, which will help to facilitate this support, by making people feel safe, inspired and valued. Under one extraordinary roof, Maggie’s will help people to find their way out of the hopelessness of cancer.”

2011 is a landmark year for Maggie’s, as the charity celebrates its 15th birthday and its growth to 15 centres which are either open or in development. These are Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Highlands, Fife, London, Cheltenham, Nottingham, South West Wales, Glasgow Gartnavel, Oxford, Lanarkshire, Aberdeen, North East and Hong Kong.

In the space of 15 years, Maggie’s has helped nearly half a million people to build a life with, through and beyond cancer. These three new centres opening this year will greatly increase the level of support available to the growing cancer population of the UK.

Maggie’s Gartnavel – Gartnavel Hospital, Glasgow
Principal Funder: Funded in full by the grant-making charity, Walk the Walk, through their Moonwalk Edinburgh Event
Opening: Monday, October 3
Architecture: Rem Koolhaas of OMA with Keppie Design
Landscape design: Lily Jencks (daughter of Maggie’s founders, Charles Jencks and Maggie Keswick Jencks) with HarrisonStevens

Maggie’s Nottingham – Nottingham City Hospital, Nottingham
Opening: Wednesday, November 2
Architecture: Piers Gough CBE of CZWG
Interiors: Sir Paul Smith
Landscape: Geoff Southern of Envert

Maggie’s South West Wales – Singleton Hospital, Swansea
Opening: Friday, December 9
Architecture: Kisho Kurokawa of Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates and Garbers & James Architects
Landscape design: Kim Wilkie Associates with Terra Firma

The opening of these three centres offer a diverse range of story opportunities including healthcare, human interest, architecture, landscape design, interiors and art. Please get in touch with Adam Hollier on 0207 386 3523 / adam.hollier@maggiescentres.org or Tricia Crosbie on 0141 225 0082 / tricia.crosbie@maggiescentres.org.

Notes to Editor:
• Maggie’s programme of support empowers people to live with, through and beyond cancer.
• Maggie’s Centres are free to visit, no appointment is necessary and are for anyone affected by any type of cancer as well as their family and friends.
• Some of the world’s leading architects have designed Maggie’s Centres, including Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Richard Rogers and Rem Koolhaus.
• In 2010 Maggie’s Centres across the UK were visited by 77,971 people affected by cancer.
• Maggie’s model of support has been so successful that it is being taken forward in Hong Kong, Barcelona and Scandinavia.
• Maggie’s president is HRH the Duchess of Cornwall.