Collective Noord Architecten BVBA

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters

ANIMAL SHELTER AND PET CREMATORIUM LOMMEL

Collectief Noord

AREA
1310 m²

YEAR
2017

MANUFACTURERS 
Edelbeton

CATEGORY
Crematorium, Animal Shelter

LOCATION
Lommel, Belgium

Text description provided by architect.

We are constructing two animal-related buildings on the boundary between the industrial site Maatheide and the nature reserve the Lommelse Sahara: an animal shelter and a pet crematorium.

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters

The buildings lack an attractive public reputation, hence their relocation to the industrial site, which in turn, is not accustomed to house public buildings.

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters

As an architecture assignment, the programmes too are fairly unfamiliar and thus require research into new, meaningful typologies.

Both buildings are planned along the new road connecting the industrial site to the nature reserve behind it.

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Geert Van Hertum

Both the shelter and the crematorium were provided with an enclosed private outdoor space, evoking the image of two stamps in an unscathed landscape, while the actual parcel limits are consciously left unformalised.

The cultivation of the relationship with the nature reserve allows the industrial buildings to acquire a full public dimension.

The meaning of the buildings arises from that duality: a public building in a nature reserve and a low-budget building on an industrial site, hence providing them with their ultimate character, between the ordinary and the formal, between the robust and the picturesque

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Geert Van Hertum
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Geert Van Hertum

In the past, an animal shelter would often be dismissed as a cast-off of the Real Estate Market, while nowadays it is largely approached as a care centre.

We consider the professionalisation of the sector as a chance to put this socially difficult topic on the map.

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Geert Van Hertum
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters

In addition to the new public ambition, the typological answer is based on the site’s specificity.

The area is an industrial site but borders a nature reserve.

Three ground floor building units give access to a U-shaped inner courtyard directed towards the landscape, while a three-layer cat tower directed towards the industrial site welcomes the visitor.

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Geert Van Hertum
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Geert Van Hertum
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Geert Van Hertum

The ground floor consists of a public reception area and a gallery along with the inner courtyard, disclosing the dog kennels and care spaces.

The inner courtyard, in turn, accommodates the encounters between new owners and animals, as well as school presentations and benefits.

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters

The pet crematorium is a border house. On the edge of the Lommelse Sahara there’s one last building, hesitating between a house and an industrial building.

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Olmo Peeters

The building has a garden surrounded by walls, which is positioned in the rough nature reserve like a hortus conclusus and serves as a scattering garden.

The pet crematorium is conceived as a compact building with two floors, hence allowing for the visitation rooms and waiting rooms to be located on the first floor where one can enjoy the landscape in complete peace and privacy.

The clear plan integrates two circulation routes (public and private) without intersections. The architecture is a sober background to the final goodbye.

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
© Geert Van Hertum


Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
Plan 00
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
Plan 01
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
Plan 01 and 02

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
Plan 00
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
Site Plan

Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
Elevation 01


Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
Sections
Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
Sections 02


Animal Shelter and Pet Crematorium Lommel
Situation

Collective Noord Architecten BVBA
T +32 3 2711164
Collective Noord Architecten BVBA
Lange Beeldekensstraat 104B, 2060 Antwerpen, Belgium