Architecture and design – Oldham

Maggie's Oldham was built in 2017.

It's the world's first engineered hardwood building. 

It is clad in tulipwood, and has an interior that is just as innovative and beautiful.

The building

Designed by Alex de Rijke of dRMM, the Oldham centre is a one-storey building supported over its garden by steel legs. 

Clad in corrugated, thermally treated tulipwood, and with the same wood worked into cross laminated timber to create the main load-bearing structure, the building is as lovely to look at as it is to use; the door fixings are timber too and the kitchen features an enormous plank of walnut as a work surface.

The internal space can be subdivided by a series of curtains, while the tree growing through the centre brings nature inside. 

To the north there's a view across Oldham to the Pennines and their ever-changing weather.

The garden

The garden at Maggie’s Oldham flows below the building into a walled and secluded woodland sanctuary. 

Garden designer Rupert Muldoon drew inspiration for the surrounding Pennines to plant a textured, ephemeral wilderness, which is also ornamental and composed of highly scented flowers and shrubs.

The greenhouse and potted herb garden offer a more social place with the opportunity of some hands-on gardening for centre visitors.