Light, architecture & material in harmonious symbiosis – Crematorium, Thun

Set against the backdrop of the Bernese Alps, the Thun Crematorium is designed as a free-standing pavilion. The tapered columns around the construction, together with its open design, create a dialogue between the interior and exterior spaces which infuses the building with a sense of nature’s tranquillity. The concentric arrangement of the rooms offers increasing layers of privacy from the outside in.

The lighting design is characterised by a restrained elegance harmonious with the materials and architecture. Generally, the visitor areas of the building are illuminated by daylight, which is augmented by a modicum of artificial lighting at night. In the building’s circumference, which is flooded with daylight, the walkway is illuminated by downlights with an elegant glass body. The adjoining prayer and funeral rooms are fitted with skylights that allow daylight into the room through a circular opening. The daylight is augmented by high-quality, filigree pendant luminaires, which, like candles, lend the rooms an atmosphere of devotion and, through their understated elegance, enhance the material clarity of the space. Deeper into the building’s interior, the technical spaces and the furnace are illuminated in a functional manner using simple, clear LED luminaires to meet the high-tech lighting requirements in this area of the crematorium.

Client

City of Thun

Architecture

Markus Schietsch Architects

Completion

2020

Tags

Health