tameside macmillan unit
Project: Wild Bank to Godley: a 12 mile walk in Tameside with Stewart Ramsden
Client: Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
Arts Programme Manager: Bronwen Gwillim for Willis Newson
Specialist Glazing and Bespoke Surface Finishes: VGL + Kwickscreen + The Printed Film Co
Architects: IBI Group
Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Macmillan Cancer Environments commissioned the new unit. Willis Newson, one of the UK’s leading Arts and Health Consultancies, managed the arts and interior design strategy and artist appointment for the project.
‘Tameside Macmillan Unit is a medium sized refurbishment project at Tameside General Hospital in Ashton-under-Lyne, near Manchester. Building on existing facilities provided by the Trust and Macmillan for cancer patients, the new unit will include a Macmillan Information and Support Centre, a 6-chair treatment room, waiting areas, procedure rooms and various spaces for alternative therapies’. Text from Artist’s Brief by Willis Newson
By far the most visible of the installations being delivered is the large scale 115sqm bespoke digitally printed ‘landscape’ running the entire length of the new 30m long corridor and reception space. This artwork is not a linear narrative, so can be experienced from whatever direction you are walking in. It isn’t a conventional landscape either, with a foreground, horizon, and expansive sky. The layers of detail within the artwork are considered to “offer repeated rewards for patients needing to return to the Unit again and again. The semi-abstract nature of the work allowed people to find their own interpretation whilst still being very evocative of familiar local places”. Bronwen Gwillim, Art Project Manager
The original 12 mile walk I made with Stewart Ramsden into the ‘Landscape of Tameside’, was only the beginning of a creative process and the development of a descriptive narrative and iconography, which could help to tell a story about another sort of journey.
Walking in nature was perceived by the project champions team as a healing experience and the beauty of the landscapes of Tameside was considered a local and relevant inspiration.
Stewart Ramsden was a member of the Tameside Macmillan Unit Art Group as a Patient Representative, he also happens to be the President of the Tameside Ramblers. On 27th February 2016, Stewart and I set out on a walk, a Stewart Ramsden ‘Ramtrail’, through Tameside. ‘The weather is overcast and grey, very cold, with intermittent rain and sleet’. Our ensuing conversations and reflections about our journey and the Macmillan Unit Project on that day was a personally rewarding experience for me and formed the inspiration and subject matter for this project.
Our route eventually described an eccentric figure of eight in the landscape, which itself became a feature of the artwork, taking in landmarks such as Wild Bank and Hollingworthall Moor to Godley– a walk of roughly 12 miles through town, suburb, farmland, and moorland.
From that journey, patterns, colours, and motifs were developed from documentary photographs, observed, and remembered detail and our recalled conversations. Drawings and studies made in the studio developed the theme and created a large and detailed vocabulary to work with.
The process, however, was further informed by a collective enthusiasm and passion for the project, which was evident throughout. This made the project so much more of a collaborative and shared experience for me and much less of an individual effort. The sense of common ownership in this project is hugely rewarding.
The collective artworks can be seen from multiple viewpoints, extending the creative reach of the scheme, including within it all the people who are using the unit at any given time - becoming something of a ‘theatre in the round’.
“This is a walk, a meander, or maybe even a day-dream
A walk along an indistinct path
This footpath is followed instinctively trailing my walking companion through colour, texture and topography
I feel the journey through the soles of my feet and the tips of my fingers
there is always a remembered route to follow or a map to guide you
There is a constancy and reward in moving forward
Things seen on a walk are half experienced and half remembered
A vivid green hedge
A tyre track
A discarded toy
A cloud like a tree, a stream like silver, a flash of colour
Horizon merges into sky
A landscape with no fixed perspective
A void in the ground swallows the clouds
A small stone becomes a boulder
An object picked up and carried in the hand along the way
Track marks in fields are gestural and dynamic
Distant buildings become a child’s building blocks
Patterns in brickwork condense into history”
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WILLIS NEWSON
Cancer patients at Tameside Hospital NHS Foundation Trust are benefitting from a major redevelopment of their local Macmillan Unit, which now offers an improved experience for patients in an inspiring new environment.
We worked with Macmillan, architects IBI and landscape designers KKE Architects to totally reimagine the space architecturally and artistically.
The redesigned space brings different services under one roof, minimising patient travel, maximising natural light and demonstrating Macmillan’s patient-centred approach to cancer care.
We led a creative engagement workshop at the start of the process with Macmillan staff, patients, the architects and landscape designers, to create a joined-up, patient-focused approach to the art, building and landscape design.
Participants in the creative consultation sessions all shared their appreciation of the value of ‘walking in nature’ as a healing experience, and of the beauty of their local scenery.“Journeys through the Landscapes of Tameside” became the overarching theme for the project, creating a supportive environment for patients by bringing to mind the reassuring rhythm, repetition and movement of walking.
The workshop participants also ‘mapped’ the journey through the spaces of the new unit from the emotional view point of the patient, identifying key locations where art might be particularly beneficial.
We used their insights to create a shared Ats & Interiors strategy with moodboards and materials lists for the project team to work with.
The shared vision ensured a strong cohesion to the team and to the development of the new Unit, creating a clear connection between the architecture, interiors and artworks, all inspired by patients.
Chris Tipping
Willis Newson commissioned artist Chris Tipping to work with the project team to create a welcoming, healing environment for patients, with integrated artworks providing a connection with nature and the beautiful local landscapes of Tameside.Tipping created a large-scale panorama which takes patients and visitors on a walk inspired by a real 12 mile hike he took through the local countryside with a former patient.
Tipping’s distinctive artworks unify the different areas, creating a local, patient-centred identity for the unit and subtly supporting journeys through the space, from the airy open reception into more intimate treatment areas.
During the creative engagement workshop, Patient Representative Stuart Ramsden gave an inspiring account of a specific walk he used to enjoy during his treatment, which was unanimously chosen by the group to provide the inspiration for the central artwork in the new centre.
Tipping accompanied Stuart on his 12 mile favourite walk, talking and capturing images along the way.
From this, Chris created a palette of ‘icons’, including wild garlic, waving grasses, boulder shapes and brick patterns, which offer a sophisticated representation of the local urban and moor landscapes.
The icons are repeated and layered on designs throughout the centre, from flexible screens used to create privacy in the treatment area, through to external glazing and a large feature artwork on the new curved wall.
They speak directly of the local landscape and allow moments of connection with and reflection on the natural world, which is hugely beneficial to wellbeing and positive patient experience.
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Printed onto durable vinyl wall covering, the feature artwork is not a linear narrative or a conventional landscape, so it can be experienced from different directions and interpreted in different ways.
This rewards repeated viewing for patients who have to return to the centre regularly, allowing them to find new details and new ways to explore the artwork each time.
Using gentle, calming colours and an abstract style, the feature wall takes patients and visitors on a journey, both through the physical space and through an imaginative depiction of the local area.
At the entrance, a bright red line (evocative of maps and route planning) describes the shape of Stuart’s favourite 12 mile walk and draws the eye around the space, emphasising the generous proportions of the double height wall and the natural light.
The new unit offers a special environment, light and airy with interesting spaces and high quality materials. The design reflects the rich landscapes of the local area and acts as a physical representation of the quality of care that staff provide.
The distinctive artworks match that approach, unifying the different areas, creating a patient-centred identity for the unit and supporting flow through the space from the open reception area into more intimate treatment spaces.
In the redevelopment the holistic, person-centred approach to integrating architecture, art and interiors mirrors Macmillan Cancer Support’s person-centred holistic approach to patient care.
“On 27th February Stewart and I set out on a walk, a Stewart Ramsden ‘Ramtrail’, through Tameside. Our conversations and reflections about our journey and the Macmillan Unit Project on that day was a personally rewarding experience for me and formed the inspiration and subject matter for this project. The process was further informed by a collective enthusiasm and passion for the project, which was evident throughout. The sense of common ownership in this project is hugely rewarding.”
Chris Tipping Artist