In this proposal for a 'Crematorium and an attendant resting-place for the ashes', the design of the building and its surroundings is directed towards a particular relationship with the user. This is to give the process of cremation, leave-taking, mourning and interring of the ashes a deeper meaning for the bereaved. The idea behind the design comes from my observations of how we in Holland treat death. The conveyor-belt form cremation often takes is very much at odds with the way I regard this ritual. Based on my experience with mourners in the Low Countries it is clear that many bereaved wish to pay their last respects individually. Besides, with an increasingly varied population there is an emerging need for crematoria where everyone, regardless of creed or culture, can respond in their own way.

I sought my inspiration in the moving traditions of Dutch funerary history. Taking passages from Fauré's Elegie I developed a new brief which regards leave-taking not as a consumer article but as a moment of contemplation.

My perception of the old Dutch landscape with its light, air and water is translated into the design up to and including the materials that give the building its reality. Here, crematorium and landscape are interwoven in routes of individual experience.

Place of education: TU Delft
Specialization: architectuur
Tutors: Max Risselada, Franziska Bollerey & Frans Boot