Maggie’s, a charity that provides free practical and emotional support for people affected by cancer, commissioned the studio to create its new centre on the campus of St James’s University Hospital in Leeds. The brief was to create an inspiring home that visitors from varied backgrounds would 'not have dared build themselves'. As well as serving 110 visitors a day, the studio also wanted the centre to preserve the hospital’s only green space by making it more accessible and enjoyable to experience. Set in the midst of medical buildings, the site was one of few green spaces left on the campus. The studio decided to preserve and accentuate this space by creating the structure out of the garden itself, raising up the planted surface. Understanding that the kitchen should be the ‘heart’ of the centre, this informed the programming of the space with more social areas for group activities including a library and exercise room surrounding the kitchen. By designing three 'planters', each of these encloses a private counselling room for visitors to meet or spend time by themselves. Going beyond thinking about what would make visitors feel better, the studio thought about wellbeing in terms of physical properties and materiality. Drawing upon the philosophy of Maggie's and the belief that great design can help people feel better, Maggie's Leeds uses several 'healthy' materials and energy-saving techniques. This is best demonstrated by the use of natural materials that are kind to the environment, like the pre-fabricated timber structure of the centre which is made out sustainably-forested spruce, a material that will expand and contract with the seasons as if alive. It is intentionally left visible to accentuate the domestic atmosphere and feelings of home. Inside, we used porous and open-textured materials such as lime plasters that help to stabilise the internal humidity of the building by absorbing and releasing moisture, ensuring a more comfortable environment. This sense of comfort was also further developed through the choice of furnishings and biophilia. The counselling rooms for one-to-one and intimate conversations needed to feel different to spaces like the exercise room for group activities. There was also a contrast between common areas such as the kitchen compared to the quiet nooks for contemplation and relaxing. These spaces are differentiated through varied tones, colours and textures but all belong to a cohesive palette. The studio wanted to avoid any hallmarks of a clinical healthcare environment. Rather than using cold and harsh stainless steel bathroom fittings which are so common in hospital environments, we chose to use wood that is organic and warm to touch. This sense of natural materiality also extended to the use of natural fibre ranges for the fabric upholstery of the furniture and use of colours that harked to nature – greens, ochres and sand. Considered to be an important piece of furniture in each Maggie’s centre, the kitchen table was specially designed by the studio out of cork, keeping in line with the overall theme of natural and highly sustainable materials. As a material, cork is soft to the touch and has acoustic absorption properties which fosters a peaceful communal area to gather for a cup of tea and a chat. The rooftop garden is inspired by Yorkshire woodlands and features native English species of plants, alongside areas of evergreen to provide warmth in the winter months. Inspired by Maggie Keswick Jencks’ love of gardening, visitors are encouraged to participate in the care of the 23,000 bulbs and 17,000 plants on site. As a result of enforced social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Maggie’s Leeds were forced to close the centre shortly after opening. Before the temporary closure, Maggie’s Leeds had received 3,314 visits, including 1,943 (53.7%) of which were people with cancer and 1,037 (28.7%) were carers. Centre staff have managed to continue providing a robust program of support to people with cancer via telephone and online means as well as twice-daily live chats (Monday to Friday) during the pandemic.