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Article from issue 1/2001 »Concrete Construction«

Crematorium in Berlin

documentation p. 79 - 83
Architect Axel Schultes Architekten | Structural Engineer GSE Saar Enseleit und Partner | IDL |

Drafts
Detail of recessed water pool 1:20
Ground Floor Plan/Basement Plan 1:1000
Horizontal section through foot of column 1:20
Section 1:1000
Site plan 1:5000
Vertical section through concrete column and "light capital"

With up to 12,000 cremations a year carried outhere, it was necessary to provide an appropriate setting for mourners as well. The two functions – cremation and funeral ceremonies – take place on separate floors of this monolithic exposed concrete structure. Access to the building is via three recessed forecourts, which lead into the large central vestibule. This square hall can accommodate up to 1,000 people and is spatially articulated by 29 monumental circular columns with so-called “light capitals” at their heads. Supported only by cantilevered brackets at the tops of the columns, the rough concrete roof seems to hover over this space like a translucent canopy. The lines of the climbing formwork to the walls create an ordering structure.