Situated in a developed landscape on the outskirts of Guildford, the existing building (built in 1965) required an extensive update to accommodate the c.1800 cremations that take place every year. In 2020 the two-year, £10 million transformation of multi award winning Guildford Crematorium was completed.
The range of visitors and stages of grief they experience as they move through the site influenced the concept for both the building and the landscape.
The project not only ensured a wide range of improvements to facilities, but the new buildings are also much more energy efficient.
It also included a complicated phasing regime to erect temporary facilities to enable continued provision of services and cremations ahead of demolition of the existing redundant facility which then permitted construction of a newbuild replacement crematorium building.
Site utilities were diverted and reconfigured to suit the temporary and new buildings. The building includes a large photovoltaic panel array and rejected heat from the abatement process is captured via plate heat exchangers to heat the building.
Awards and commendations for the crematorium include:
· Wood Award, Shortlisted, 2021
· SPACES Yearbook, SPACES Awards and CivicBuilding of the Year, Shortlisted, 2021
· Guildford Society Design Award Winner, 2020
· RIBA National Award, 2022
· RIBA South East Building of the Year Award, 2022
· Dezeen Award, Cultural Building Category,Longlist, 2022
· Civic Trust Award, Winner, 2022
· Sustainable Drainage Awards, Finalist, 2022
· SPACES Award, Highly Commended, Community Category, 2021
· Guildford Society Design Award, Public Building & Civic Building Public Realm, Winner, 2020
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