Jasper Smits - Master of Architecture - Space for Parting

Jasper Smits Space for parting bidding farewell and cremation

Hijmans van den Berghlaan 104 3571 PD Utrecht 0031 (0)6 24 88 68 78 nl.linkedin.com/in/jasper-smits-17581710 jasper@jaspersmits.nl www.jaspersmits.nl jaspersmits buro voor architectuur

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture Graduation Projects 2015-2016

Architecture

Jasper Smits Space for parting bidding farewell and cremation

A close acquaintance of my parents died and was cremated. The evening before, I bade her farewell and offered my condolences to her family in a building of the funeral and cremation services company Yarden. I walked into the crematorium. We could leave our jackets in the cloakroom.

People said hello here and there. I didn’t see any family members or relatives of the deceased. The sign above the entrance to the auditorium lit up: silence. The undertaker opened the doors to the auditorium. I saw the family sitting down with their backs towards us. The final farewell began with beautiful words and music. After half an hour, we were led past the casket by the undertaker, and the coffee and sandwiches were waiting in the condolence room. Family and close relatives joined us a little later. They were present during the lowering of the casket. The offering of condolences began.

I was done after one and half hours and saw another hearse with a family waiting for the following farewell service. The casket of our good acquaintance will have already been burnt.

The above-mentioned cremation aroused anger and aggression in me. It describes the businesslike, chilly and above all slickly-run organisation of the cremation. No contact with the outside world at all. The restricted space and limited opportunity for movement: from reception area to auditorium then condolence room and, as a result of this, the limited time given to experience, reflect on and share emotions in relation to the deceased and her family. The undertaker’s rigid direction of the proceedings made the guests feel hounded. The experiences gained at the three funerals inspired me when formulating ideas about what is needed to provide the cremation ceremony with a sense of space and togetherness, as well as ensuring people can take responsibility, have time and direct proceedings themselves.

How could I answer these demands as an architect?

Both the archetypal crematorium and the farewell ceremony of a cremation are aimed at efficiency and taking care of all one’s needs. As a result of this, the final farewell has become a production lasting an hour and a quarter. The bereaved are kept at arm’s length and are observers instead of participants. The result is a fleeting farewell in which the contribution of the bereaved is minimal. As a result of this, one can only relive the memory through photos. Death, but also the individualisation of society, calls for a more personal farewell in which there is sufficient time, space and resources to arrange the farewell oneself. The traditional village funeral had both spatial and personal qualities that have been lost over the years. The commotion, the transience, the hustle and bustle and the scale of the modern city offers no space for a comparable ceremony. The landscape, which demands nothing and is always in motion, makes the farewell more intense. ‘When the casket was lowered, it started to snow.’ That is why I am making a crematorium in the landscape with a family house and a studio where one has the time and space over the course of a week to bid farewell and hold the farewell ceremony as one sees fit.

Graduation date 31 08 2016

Commission members Donald van Dansik (mentor) Floris Hund Bruno Doedens

Additional members for the examination Bart Bulter Judith Korpershoek

1981

1990

2000

2010

Jasper Smits

polder structure

sand mining A27

dumping household rubbish and industrial waste

dumping dredging spoil

lake shoaling

Up until the 1970s

The 1970s

1974 - 1977

1978 - 1979

2015

2016

Fifteen-metre-deep lake

polluted lake

Result: Five-metre-thick mud layer, heavily contaminated locally

Dredging spoil covered with slightly polluted mud (shoaling), win-win for surplus mud Utrecht and biodiversity at the location.

Design: lake as place to bid farewell Lake is divided into 3 sections (woods, reeds and water), each section is given a building.

Historical polder structure revealed once again.

Ceremony goes from closed to open environment.

0m

100 m

500 m

0m

100 m

landscape and buildings 25m

500 m

0m

100 m

500 m

0m

100 m

50m

100m

150m

entrance and ceremony route

200m

25m

500 m

0m

100 m

entrance

parking

path ceremony

family house with reception area

woodland path

memorial house

house for final farewell

cremation, farewell

footpath

Design at Hooge Kampse Plas Utrecht

50m

100m

150m

200m

routes and buildings 25m

500 m

50m

100m

150m

200m

Architecture concept

huis

ontvangst

gedenkruimte crematie condoleance

huis

ontvangst

gedenkruimte crematie

cafe I restaurant

condoleance cafe I restaurant

huis

ontvangst

gedenkhuis

crematie

condoleance I cafe I restaurant

huis

ontvangst

gedenkhuis

crematie

condoleance I cafe I restaurant

huis

ontvangst

gedenkhuis

crematie

condoleance I cafe I restaurant

familiehuis ontvangst

1. a reinterpretation of the tradition and the idea that one walks from one part to the other, just like at a funeral.

gedenkhuis

crematie

2. an active contribution from the bereaved by replacing the staff, where possible, with the bereaved.

afscheidshuis

3. a farewell lasting several days with space to live together, bid farewell and direct your own ceremony.

1 roof structure, 3 types of daylight

roof structure house for final farewell

bk dakrand = 4595 bk dakconstructie = 4530+p

0,2m

0,4m

0,5m

1m

1m

1m

2m

2m

4m

0,6m 1,5m

2.5m

3m 8m

1:20 1:50 1:100 1:200

incidence of light reception area

0,2m

0,4m

0,5m

1m

1m

1m

2m

2m

4m

0,6m 1,5m

2.5m

3m 8m

1:20 1:50 1:100 1:200

0,2m

0,4m

0,5m

1m

1m

1m

2m

2m

4m

bk dakrand = 4595

ok dakconstructie = 3545

ok dakconstructie = 3545

bk vloer BG P=0

bk vloer BG P=0

bk vloer BG P=0

bk dakconstructie = 4530+p

0,6m

N

1:20 1:50 1:100 1:200

bk dakrand = 4595

ok dakconstructie = 3545

bk dakconstructie = 4530+p

1,5m 2.5m

3m 8m

incidence of light memorial house

incidence of light house for final farewell

N

roof structure memorial house

N

roof structure reception area family house

Jasper Smits route from parking to cremation

family house

Section family house

from closed to open

plan of family house

Architecture memorial house technische ruimte

schoonmaak werkkast

spoelkeuken

gedenkruimte

beamer

keuken video en audio

opslag

N

section memorial house

arrival memorial house

plan of memorial house

view from memorial house

1:20 1:50 1:100 1:200

0,2m

0,4m

0,5m

1m

1m

1m

2m

2m

4m

0,6m 1,5m

2.5m

3m 8m

b k vloer BG P=0

b k vloer BG P=0

b k dakrand = 3000+p

b k dakrand = 3000+p

o k dak = 2700+p

o k dak = 2700+p

b k vloer BG P=0

b k vloer BG P=0

Jasper Smits cremation b k dakrand = 4970+p

b k dakrand = 4970+p

o k dakconstructie = 3850+p

o k dakconstructie = 3850+p

b k dakrand = 4970+p

b k dakrand = 4970+p

o k dakconstructie = 3850+p

o k dakconstructie = 3850+p

b k vloer BG P=0

b k vloer BG P=0

b k vloer BG P=0

b k vloer BG P=0

b k dakrand = 4970+p

b k dakrand = 4970+p

o k dakconstructie = 3850+p

o k dakconstructie = 3850+p

b k dakrand = 4970+p

b k dakrand = 4970+p

o k dakconstructie = 3850+p

o k dakconstructie = 3850+p

b k vloer BG P=0

b k vloer BG P=0

b k vloer BG P=0

b k vloer BG P=0

cremation on the water

house for final farewell bk dakrand = 3525+p

ok dakconstructie = 2700+p

bk dakrand = 3525+p

ok dakconstructie = 2700+p

bk vloer BG P=0

bk vloer BG P=0

western facade

southern facade

bk dakrand = 3525+p

ok dakconstructie = 2700+p

bk dakrand = 3525+p

ok dakconstructie = 2700+p

bk vloer BG P=0

northern facade bk vloer BG P=0

plan of house for final farewell

eastern facade

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture Architect, Master of Science Urbanist, Master of Science Landscape Architect, Master of Science

With the inclusion of the course in Urbanism in 1957 and Landscape Architecture in 1972, the Academy is the only architecture school in the Netherlands to bring together the three spatial design disciplines under one roof.

Some 350 guest tutors are involved in teaching every year. Each of them is a practising designer or a specific expert in his or her particular subject. The three heads of department also have design practices of their own in addition to their work for the Academy. This structure yields an enormous dynamism and energy and ensures that the courses remain closely linked to the current state of the discipline.

The courses consist of projects, exercises and lectures. First-year and second-year students also engage in morphological studies. Students work on their own or in small groups. The design

projects form the backbone of the syllabus.

On the basis of a specific design assignment, students develop knowledge, insight and skills.

The exercises are focused on training in those skills that are essential for recognising and solving design problems, such as analytical techniques, knowledge of the repertoire, the use of materials, text analysis, and writing. Many of the exercises are linked to the design projects.

The morphological studies concentrate on the making of spatial objects, with the emphasis on creative process and implementation. Students experiment with materials and media forms and gain experience in converting an idea into a creation.

During the periods between the terms there are workshops, study trips in the Netherlands and abroad, and other activities. This is also the preferred moment for international exchange projects. The Academy regularly invites foreign students for the workshops and recruits wellknown designers from the Netherlands and further afield as tutors.

Graduates from the Academy of Architecture are entitled to the following titles: Architect, Master of Science; Urbanist, Master of Science and Landscape Architect, Master of Science.

Architecture

Architects, urbanists and landscape architects learn the profession at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture through an intensive combination of work and study. They work in small, partly interdisciplinary groups and are supervised by a select group of practising fellow professionals.

There is a wide range of options within the programme so that students can put together their own trajectory and specialisation.