“To make a path for the first crematorium in Lithuania wasn’t easy. Despite the big enthusiasm, the catholic mind, political hypocrisy, the lack and imperfections of environmental and other laws were overcome only in 2011. The owners of Kėdainiai crematorium, doctors and environmentalists, showed the strength.”
Kėdainiai is an industrial town in the centre of Lithuania and the crematorium sits within an industrial park; not the most serene and idyllic location for funeral services, but the context really drove the aesthetic of the building. The architects took this industrial setting and pushed a ‘minimalistic and ascetic scenario’ for their building.
The result is a one-storey concrete structure with the materiality flowing from the external to the interior in order to maintain a unifying quality throughout. To distance itself from the industrial environment the building’s design focused on the idea of enclosure around a courtyard. The space draws influence from traditional Japanese courtyards and creates a very calm and intimate area for the occupants to inhabit before proceeding with the service inside, creating ‘an emotional filter’ to reduce the stress and pain of the experience.
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| Aliaus Koroliovo nuotr./Crematorium in Kėdainiai |
