The ceremonial aspects of the crematorium represent one of the most primordial rites of humanity. The mourning of an individual at the moment when the physical body ceases to exist bears a solemnity that demands the right tone—dignified but not nostalgic, ceremonial but not monumental.

The new crematorium offers intimate visitation rooms as well as overnight rooms for relatives. Set apart from the church, memorial hall, and existing crematorium the new pavilion-like building masks the scale of the machinery and becomes the backdrop of the processional path in an existing cemetery. A collection of rooflights become the expressive elements to an otherwise reticent building, at times masking the required chimneys. At the same time, a series of strategically placed curved walls transition between inside and outside in a dialogue between plan and section. The required double circulation ensures that the the service path of the coffin never coincides with that of the visitors while the concentric organization avoids long corridors.