Lovell Chen, in an effort to bring functionality to Boyd and Renowden Chapels, located at Springvale Botanical Cemetery, has transformed the crematorium into a place that celebrates life.

The brief given to the practice made it clear that the practice needed to bring clarity to the building. Boyd and Renowden held a desire to ensure the spaces where the funerals were held would specifically focus on the person being celebrated. The practice set to work on opening up the spaces, bringing them newfound coherence through a number of textural implementations.

The spaces now feature a number of robust contemporary elements, including the steel and glass structure that shelters arriving caskets. The original elegant details and design motifs of the building’s past have been reinstated by Lovell Chen, in a bid to retain and strengthen character.

Two multi-denominational crematorium chapels, dating back to the 1930s have been refurbished, bringing depth and simplicity to each space. The central courtyard of the precinct had been covered over by previous renovations, with the practice using this to their advantage, turning it into a shared gathering place dubbed the Atrium.

The Atrium is effectively the beating heart of the crematorium. Lined with timber and naturally lit through the implementation of a steeply-pitched lightweight double-skinned roof, the space offers funeral goers with a place of connection and quiet.

With an aim to bring clarity to a number of spaces within the chapel, Lovell Chen have brought light, transparency and texture back to Boyd and Renowden Chapels. Smartly intertwining contemporary materials with the building’s stylings, the practice has subtly altered the feel of each space, increasing the elegance of the precinct as a whole.