Education & Public Sector Winner 2017

Location: Oldham
Architect: dRMM
Client/Owner: Maggie’s
Structural Engineer: Booth King UK
Timber Advice & Procurement Liaison: American Hardwood Export Council
Main Contractor/Builder: F Parkinson
Structural Timber Subcontractor: Züblin Timber
Machining of Fluted Cladding: Morgan Timber
Window Manufacturer: Falegnameria Aresi
Cost Consultant: Robert Lombardelli Partnership
Wood Supplier: Middle Tennessee Lumber (Tulipwood)
Wood Species: American Tulipwood, American White Oak, American Ash, American Black Walnut

Built in the grounds of NHS cancer hospitals, Maggie’s Centres offer free practical and emotional support for people affected by cancer. The design of Maggie’s Oldham is less about form and more about content. Supported on slender columns, the building floats above a garden framed by pine, birch and tulip poplar trees. From a central oasis, a tree grows up through the building, bringing nature inside. Maggie’s Oldham is the first permanent building constructed from sustainable tulipwood CLT, following on from dRMM and AHEC’s development of the material. The tulipwood has been carefully detailed to bring out its natural beauty. The slatted ceiling was created from wood left over from the CLT fabrication process, ensuring no waste. Externally the building is draped in custom-fluted, thermally modified tulipwood.