This diploma project deals with the construction of a Crematorium Center in an undeveloped coastal area between the Municipality of Thermaikos and Thessaloniki’s Airport. A dirt road and a narrow strip of sand separate the property from the sea front. The area is dominated by horizontal lines, the feeling of desolation and the distant sound of the planes that fades away as they take-off.
The building program includes rooms for funeral ceremonies, cremation facilities, gathering places and a place for depositing the urns (columbarium). The purpose of this architectural study is to create a symbolic place of memory and honor for those who choose to be cremated after death, as well as a gentle landscape intervention for ensuring the most painless and peaceful experience possible for the visitors.
The central idea of the composition is the structure of three separate building volumes along a linear course of water that ends at the sea horizon. Pure morphology is chosen with simple contours, without unnecessary decorative elements. A series of single or double colonnades organize the facades, creating at the same time playful shadows and reflections in the water. The outdoor area is organized with sloping green areas and a calm lake, while the natural vegetation of the area develops around the complex.
