Beatson Café

The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre is the lead centre for non-surgical cancer care in the West of Scotland, serving a population of 2.6 million. BMJ Architects had previously designed and built the wider cancer centre, which is Scotland’s largest cancer centre and the second largest in the UK. Within this setting, Beatson Cancer Charity wanted to raise its profile, connect more easily with patients, staff and visitors, and continue supporting specialist staff, enhanced medical equipment, research, service development and education.

The project brought together two related interventions within the Tom Wheldon Building: a new Meet & Greet Space and Fundraising Hub, and the refurbishment of the café. Both were designed to help the charity feel more present and accessible to the people it supports every day.

The new Beatson Café links two separate underused areas at the entrance to the Tom Wheldon Building. Previously impersonal and uncomfortable spaces were transformed into a light, airy and welcoming environment where patients, staff and visitors can relax, meet, chat and briefly step away from the clinical setting. The design incorporates Beatson Cancer Charity’s corporate colours while creating a space that aims to be much more than a coffee shop.

BMJ opened up the side wall to the existing servery, creating a more spacious and modern feel. The waiting area and café seating now have a stronger relationship, both physically and through materiality, views and atmosphere, helping the entrance area feel calmer, clearer and more coherent.

Alongside the café, BMJ designed the charity’s Meet & Greet Space and Fundraising Hub within part of an existing double-height waiting room provided by the NHS. Located on the edge of an entrance route into the Tom Wheldon Building, the hub includes a ground-floor meet and greet area with a small meeting space above. A large glass screen opens views towards the main waiting room while maintaining an appropriate level of privacy for visitors.

The design challenge was to make the charity more visible without making people using the hub feel exposed. BMJ responded with a timber slatted wall incorporating the charity’s branded colour, simplifying the internal geometry and subtly reflecting Beatson Cancer Charity’s heart identity. The reception desk was designed as an extension of this wall, creating a clear and welcoming point of contact.

Delivery was carefully phased within a live hospital environment surrounded by clinical services on all sides. Infection control requirements were maintained throughout, with works to the waiting area carried out at weekends and the café seating area refurbished during normal working hours.

Together, the café and fundraising hub create a more generous and human setting within the cancer centre. The project demonstrates how focused interior intervention can improve the everyday experience of patients, staff and visitors while helping Beatson Cancer Charity strengthen its presence, communicate its purpose and continue supporting people affected by cancer.