Crematorium Hofheide

At the Hofheide Crematorium, the cremation process is shaped through a ritualisation of the place itself. Coussée & Goris architects, in association with the Spanish architects Rafael Aranda, Carmen Pigem and Ramon Vilalta (RCR architects), opted for a landscape approach and a building that responds to spatial experience. Situated in the middle of an open landscape of marshland, the crematorium hovers over the water like a low sarcophagus. The building and its place in the landscape form an invitation to contemplation: the walk through the marshland park, entry and passage all give a sense of place to the process through which the deceased take their leave. What is quite new here is that the various different functions of a crematorium are housed in a single volume. A concrete plinth contains the technical installations and forms a platform for the public, ceremonial area. The radical choice of material for the upper building, a rust-coloured concrete cast in layers, makes it emphatically monolithic. The heaviness of the oblong volume, which appears to be formed by what look like geological strata, contrasts with the horizontal opening. This, in combination with outside galleries, establishes a link with the light and the water.

There is no direct entrance door or canopy, but more of an opposite movement: the whole building appears to be tilted up, so that the visitor is gradually embraced by successive atmospheric spaces.

Movement through the building is guided by the changes of light: from the dramatic vertical light through geometric skylights to the ingress of light from the horizontal slit, combined with the reflections of the surrounding areas of water. Through the evocation of stone, water and light, the crematorium displays an intense monumental intimacy.

Author: Caroline Voet. This text has been published in the Architecture Review Flanders N°11. Embedded Architecture.