Pet Crematorium by Petr Hájek Architekti

The site for taking a last farewell from four-legged friends is located some 25 km northwest of Prague in an area once used for air defences by the military. The Hunting Grounds pet crematorium is concealed within a kind of bunker mainly built underground and accessible only from one side, where now an evocative portal flanked by two huge, stepped retaining walls awaits the bereaved.   

Facade of reflecting hexagonal elements 

Following the alterations by Petr Hájek Architekti, visitors do not see a door on arriving but rather a facade 6 m in height and 11 m wide. Clad in reflecting hexagonal elements, it translates the passing from this world into a poetic image of dissolution or becoming one with nature.

The corresponding wall of concrete blocks is a certain distance from the bunker, resulting in a gap towards the top that the planning team filled on the inside with a skylight. The individual hexagonal elements of metal-coated polycarbonate on the facade were glued on at a slightly tilted angle by hand, with the result that the reflection is more reminiscent of looking into a kaleidoscope than of a mirror image.

Interior of the pet crematorium

The existing structure behind the mirror wall is divided into two sections. On the left there is a modern crematorium furnace in a roughly finished room accessed from a large, practically invisible swing door in the facade; the section for the bereaved on the right is reached through a door in the retaining wall. Plain passages lead into a foyer followed by an oratory. A light ceiling, simple plywood furnishings and a high double-leaf door with wrought-iron handles transforms this space into a small chapel.  

Not only the poetic approach to the theme of farewell, transition and new beginnings but also the virtuoso handling of the low budget are worthy of note. For many people, a pet's death is a shock, one that deserves processing appropriately. At the pet crematorium in Prague, a certain consolation is to be found in the return of the beloved creature to nature in a way marked by dignity.