Launch of building work at Maggie´s London

Sarah Brown, Dan Peason and Richard Rogers launch building work at
Maggie's London

On 21 November 2006, Maggie’s Centres patron Sarah Brown, landscape designer Dan Pearson and Richard Rogers buried a time capsule at the building site of Maggie’s London, the new cancer caring centre based at Charing Cross Hospital in Hammersmith.
The time capsule contained contributions from Sarah Brown, Dan Pearson, Richard Rogers and Laura Lee, director of Maggie’s Centres, which they felt would help future generations to understand more about the cultural environment that surrounded the arrival of Maggie’s in London. The capsule was buried in an area of the site which – when the project is completed in approximately a year’s time – will be a landscaped garden.

Sarah Brown said: “I am delighted that London will soon have its own Maggie’s Centre. I have been involved with Maggie’s five existing Centres in Scotland for a number of years and during this time, I have witnessed some of the amazing conversations that take place in these remarkable places. People have often commented to me that they feel as if a cloud has been lifted from over them after visiting Maggie’s Centre.

A cancer diagnosis often causes a sense of being out of control, Maggie’s can help people find ways to take control of their lives again.”

Richard Rogers said: “I am delighted that work on Maggie’s Centre London is commencing on site. There is a long history linking well-designed buildings and space with healing, which was identified by my friend Maggie Keswick Jencks and has been built on by the work of Maggie’s Centres since 1996. Maggie’s Centres are a vital example of good design serving communities and those in need. I very much look forward to the completion of Maggie’s Centre London.”

Maggie’s Centres is currently celebrating 10 years of offering free of charge psychological and emotional support and practical information. Its founder, Maggie Keswick Jencks, wanted to create a welcoming and home-like environment for people affected by cancer to visit and use as their own. Through her own diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer, Maggie was profoundly aware of the need for people being treated for cancer – and their family and friends – to access support and information from experienced cancer support specialists, alongside finding practical ways to manage the stress and anxiety associated with the disease through relaxation classes, group workshops and Tai Chi.

For more information visit the Maggie’s Centres website