Maggie’s Gartnavel in Glasgow has been given the Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award 2012.

The building, by Dutch architects OMA, won the prize out of a shortlist of fourteen buildings.

The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland hold the awards every year. All fourteen projects on the shortlist were winners of the RIAS Awards for 2012, presented in June.

The Best Building award was presented by Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Ms Fiona Hyslop MSP with Mrs Margaret Doolan Hon FRIAS (the late Andrew Doolan’s mother).

The ceremony took place at the Scottish Parliament.

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Ms Hyslop said: "The Maggie’s Centre at Gartnavel is a building I know well. It is a tremendous resource for cancer patients and their families, a place of contemplation, support and healing. It is a huge credit to its enlightened client and to the sensitivity and skill of its architect."

The winner will receive a gold medal cast by Scottish Goldsmith, James Brent Ward and a cheque for £25,000, making it the richest architectural prize in the UK.

The award is supported the late Andrew Doolan’s family and by the Scottish Government.

The full judges citation for the winning project reads: "This is an extraordinary building – a place of calm, simultaneously welcoming and open. Maggie’s Centres provide support for people with cancer, their families and friends. Exceptional architecture and innovative spaces make people feel better. This single-level building, a ring of interlocking rooms, is close to the Beatson Cancer Centre.

"The spaces feel casual but allow for privacy. The approach is about modest external expression, embracing a courtyard garden to generate a unique place of gentle contemplation and an exemplary caring environment."

(IT)