Sir Paul, who was born in Nottingham, operated a digger to celebrate the commencement of building work at the £3m centre - a pivotal day for people affected by cancer across Nottingham, North Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

Sir Paul agreed to design the interior of Maggie’s Nottingham. His design will include photos taken during his travels round the world.

Paul Smith said: “The idea of Maggie’s is such a unique one and we are very privileged to be involved in the centre in my home town of Nottingham where we have been invited to decorate and furnish the interior, working closely with the architect Piers Gough.”

Set to open towards the end of 2011, Maggie’s Nottingham will provide free emotional and practical support to those living with cancer, their friends and family in the Mid Trent Cancer Network – a population of approximately 1.3m people. More than 4,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year in the area.

The building has been designed by well-known architect Piers Gough CBE. It has a near symmetrical design and generous height which gives the building a sense of space and balance.

The elevated oval building of glazed ceramic tile floats over a smaller basement, with plants growing up the sides. Balconies will extend from the kitchen and meeting rooms and a patio will open onto the garden, which is designed to use scent and texture to create a secluded and uplifting area for people to enjoy.

Piers Gough, a personal friend of Maggie’s co-founder, Maggie Keswick Jencks, said: “The light, peaceful and non-institutional design of Maggie’s Nottingham will be a sanctuary for all those who walk through the door. Sheltered by trees, the centre will be a homely, comfortable space next to the busy hospital, where anyone affected by cancer can come to relax. The centre is a safe space where visitors can engage with nature while being sheltered from the elements. From the outside the playful appearance will entice people to take a look through the door; once they do the harmony of light and space will create a uniquely welcoming environment.”

Maggie’s CEO, Laura Lee, said: “I am thrilled that we are on site in Nottingham. The support we have received from our board, the community and the Nottingham Evening Post has been nothing short of outstanding and I am already looking forward to returning for the opening. There are four thousand new diagnoses of cancer per year in the area that Maggie’s will serve and our team will be in place to help them, the people already living with cancer, their families and friends to live with through and beyond cancer.”

For further details contact: Katie Tait on 0207 386 3535/07500 842900


Notes to Editor:
• There are currently seven Maggie’s Centres across the UK – Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Highlands, Fife, Cheltenham and London.

• There are three Interim Centres – Oxford, South West Wales and Lanarkshire.

Centres are planned for these sites as well as the North East, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff and a second Centre in Glasgow.
• Maggie’s programme of support empowers people to live with, through and beyond cancer.

• Maggie’s Centres are free to visit, no appointment is necessary and are for anyone affected by any type of cancer as well as their family and friends.

• Some of the world’s leading architects have designed Maggie’s Centres, including Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Richard Rogers and Rem Koolhaus.

• In 2009 Maggie’s Centres across the UK were visited by 78,863 people affected by cancer.

• Maggie’s model of support has been so successful that it is being taken forward in Hong Kong, Barcelona and Scandinavia.

• Maggie’s president is HRH the Duchess of Cornwall.

• Starting out in a single shop in Nottingham back in 1970, Paul Smith is now a global fashion phenomenon. The collection is wholesaled to thirty five countries and has fourteen shops in England. Paul Smith shops are found in London, Nottingham, Paris, Milan, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Kuwait, U.A.E. – and more than 200 throughout Japan. Paul Smith is still involved; designing clothes, choosing fabrics, approving shop locations and overseeing every development within the company. Paul Smith also has impressive and diverse showrooms in London, Paris, Milan, New York and Tokyo.

• Maggie’s Nottingham is being built by The Bowmer & Kirkland Group, which is one of the most successful, privately owned construction and development companies in the UK.
B&K undertakes projects across the UK in many sectors of construction including commercial, retail, education, industrial, distribution, accommodation, leisure and health.
Recent projects in Nottingham include the renovation and refurbishment of the Newton and Arkwright buildings for Nottingham Trent University and headquarters for Speedo at NG2.