Crematory in Basel

Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber

CREMATORY IN BASEL

Architekturbüro Garrigues Maurer

LOCATION
Riehen, Switzerland

PROJECT YEAR
2017

PHOTOGRAPHS
Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber

CATEGORY
Crematorium

MANUFACTURERS
Petersen Tegl, IFZW Zwickau

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT
August + Margrith Künzel Landschaftsarchitekten, Binningen

CLIENT
Immobilien Basel Stadt

COLLABORATORS
Bernhard Maurer, Frédéric Garrigues, Eleonora Bassi

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
Bollinger + Grohmann

Text description provided by architect.

Located not far from the centre of Basel, directly at the border to Germany, close to the Rhine lies Switzerland’s biggest cemetery.

Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber

The so-called Hörnli is a place of mourning and devotion, which at the same time is a sensitive and precisely cultivated garden.

It is placed on the border in an ambiguous sense.

Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber

Likewise, it is a multicultural place that reflects our being together before and after death.

The cemetery was finished in the 30s and its existing layout and buildings are shaped by a straight classical geometrical order embedded in nature.

Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber

This urban layout gives consolation in form of rationality and clarity.

The new crematory, finished mid-2017 subordinates itself to these found patterns.

It forms a background for both the landscape and the act of saying farewell.

Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber

It creates a solemn experience, ecumenical and easily accessible to all.

Following the main alley, the building appears as an independent volume in line with the existing mortuary building.

A new entrance-court forms a mediating space between the existing and new structures.

Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber

From there you enter an enclosed courtyard providing an intimate, semi-public space only available to the respective mourners allowing a slow approach to the final act.

This sequence of spaces ending in the cremation room is followed by a volumetric development in height.

The building rises step by step from the lowest level of the entrance to its highest part, the free-standing chimney.

Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber

These movements guide the families by creating a succession of spaces that ends and starts with the buildings one big open window opening towards the sky.

Furthermore, the new crematory is characterized by the picture of simultaneity.

The industrial process of incineration and the emotional exception of mourning.

Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber

The translation is a building with a concrete structure and a brick skin. Concrete is a rough, industrial product, the brick is a hand-made and hand-laid material

The latter stretches around the building and opens to light and air, defining a porous border that is open and closed at the same time.


Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber
Crematory in Basel
© Rasmus Norlander, Ariel Huber


Crematory in Basel
First Basement Plan
Crematory in Basel
Second Basement Plan
Crematory in Basel
Ground Floor Plan
Crematory in Basel
Longitudinal Section


Crematory in Basel
Cross Section B
Crematory in Basel
Cross Section C


Crematory in Basel
Context Box