Norman Foster has built and now inaugurated a Maggie’s Centre in his native city of Manchester. The new service for counseling patients of cancer – with which the British architect was diagnosed over a decade ago – is part of a network of facilities spread across the United Kingdom which have been designed by different architects and teams, others being the firms of Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, and Snøhetta. Located a short walk from The Christie Hospital and conceived to provide welcoming spaces, the building has a symmetrical floor plan, a wooden frame with beams and supports presenting an openwork pattern, and a roof fragmented in glazed triangles. Large windows face a garden designed by the landscape designer Dan Pearson, while a greenhouse is attached to the south side. The furniture has also been custom-designed by Foster. Foster + Partners