VAN DE VELDE – Funeral center
How should we begin with the design of a funeral center that contains a restaurant and a private apartment?
First, the analysis of the different uses that are required. What can be linked and what prefers a privative or isolated character.
The morgue requires a subdued, serene atmosphere. It implies saying goodbye to the deceased privately. In contrast, the zone is intended for a farewell meal rather a meeting place for family. Notwithstanding restrained, it brings people together. Often to catch up and give one last tribute to the deceased. In any case, we are given an opener here with regard to the personal greeting to the dead.
The best solution, in our opinion, for this conflict of privacy is to split the building into part mortuary and part restaurant. The division takes place by creating a continuous (possibly lockable) hall in which toilets, cloakroom, and decorative ornament sales are housed. The meeting of mortuary, restoration and living is a central point where we provide reception desk.
We see the layout of the site in a section "miter zone" and a section where we keep the possibility to park 16 cars + 7 cars in the front.
Making two entrances gives us the advantage of keeping the building flexible and providing one entrance for mortuary / private entrance and the other (more towards parking area) for the restaurant.
We have located the vertical connection of the levels at strategic points.
On the one hand, we provide a lift platform to connect the underground garage to the service area. For example, we take the deceased - hidden from view - in an easy way from the car to the treatment room and cold stores.
On the other hand, we connect the basement with the passenger elevator and the stairwell to the basement, the funeral home and the residence. Stairs and lift are located in the immediate vicinity of the reception desk and the preparation kitchen on the ground floor; private office and living room on the floor and storage and box room on the basement floor.
In this way, living, working and discussing are concentrated in a very concentrated way and all actions can be carried out without having to cross the public.
Provisions for home or work kitchen can be organized from the basement; and the distance from the reception desk to the showroom boxes is minimal and discreet.
The building volume is determined by mutually shifting boxes, creating spatial tensions, openness and security, play of light and shadows.
The experience of the last greeting is enhanced by this, we gradually move from a higher, more open volume to the lower, more secure greeting room. Our volume game creates a very subtle light just before the greeting of the deceased.
The parlors also benefit from such play of light, for example, natural light is drawn into the reception area via an upper window and the large room receives filtered light from wood.
We cut out the living box at the height of the terrace so that privacy is nevertheless obtained compared to the business area.
Cantilevered awnings provide space for shelter when entering or leaving the room or when the urge for a cigarette becomes too great
The maximum imposed construction depth on the floor is 16 m, while the width is 22 m.
Our vertical circulation is determined by the position in the funerarium, central to the entrance areas, close to our desk / counter.
It is therefore fundamental that we coordinate the organization of the home accordingly.
The idea is to develop our residential program around this vertical axis in order to facilitate circulation and to exclude useless circulation.
No unnecessary corridors or long journeys, in short, efficient use of the building.
Seating area, kitchen, terrace are the spaces that we zone at the back. Here the garden view takes precedence and we take advantage of our sunny orientation.
We then arrange bedrooms, dressing room, bathroom on the street side.
These functions cover the entrance to the funerary.
The terrace is located within the living volume. The open character is subtly planned in order to guarantee the privacy of customers and residents. Terrace can thus continue to function perfectly, even if customers come.
Other openings are filtered by wooden slats to give privacy to public life and to create a separate, understated atmosphere.
