maggies centre

Location: Hammersmith
Main Contractor: Rok
Architects: Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
Installed by: Structura

The glazed walls below the spectacular “floating” roof of the new £2m Maggie’s Centre, Hammersmith, the winner of the RIBA Sterling Prize 2009, were manufactured and installed by Structura UK Ltd, curtain wall engineering specialist, in a contract worth £200,000. Maggie’s is a cancer support charity located next to Charing Cross Hospital, and has been designed on a welcoming, domestic, non-institutional scale by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, architects.

The raised roof allows light to flood into the building and appears to “float” because no columns or framing can be seen supporting it. Structura’s work involved installing curtain walling 6m high x 60m wide to all four elevations, and fixing clerestorey glazing above. The curtain walling is made up of 30mm glazing laminated (exterior) and toughened (interior), and Schüco’s jansen steel profiles. The clerestorey glazing is fixed into the curtain walling transom below and to a steel angle above the ceiling, and consists of 30mm thick, Pilkington Optiwhite, non-reflective glass in sizes approximately 3.9m wide x 1 m high, and some shaped units. Inside the 370m² Centre, Structura has supplied and installed internal glazed screens, two sets of sliding doors, 7 sets of swing doors and several oversize windows.

Dave Rickman of Structura UK says: “We met a demanding and challenging brief from the architects by our absolute commitment to every detail, and our wealth of technical expertise and experience in all aspects of curtain walling. The raised, overhanging roof and glazing of Maggie’s also help to obscure the sight of the huge NHS hospital next door.”

The main contractor was ROK. The structural engineer was Arup. Maggie’s Hammersmith is the first Maggie’s Centre in England. Six already exist in Scotland and there is a roll-out programme for four more in England, one more in Scotland and the first one in Wales.

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