The demand for urn burials is increasing in Düsseldorf. This is one of the reasons why a new columbarium was built at the second largest cemetery in the state capital, the Südfriedhof. The chapel there - built in 1905 by the architect Johannes Radke - was added to the list of monuments of the city of Düsseldorf in 1986 and rebuilt for this purpose.

The building structure of the area in which the above-ground burial site is located is reminiscent of a sacred building. The "central nave" with its vaulted ceiling is enclosed on both sides by a lateral "nave". Pfeiffer Architektur's concept for the conversion included partially demolishing the partition walls of the former cells and farewell rooms to create larger rooms. Cubic room elements are arranged in these. They accommodate a total of 550 urn chambers, which are arranged horizontally and staggered. Their closure panels were designed in alternating shades of gray, which creates a vibrancy and an interplay of light, reflection and shadow. LED candles or flowers can be placed on plain shelves. A view of the individual rooms opens up from the "central nave": the mosaic-like arrangement of the square tomb slabs is echoed in the interior windows of the passageways, which have been returned to their historical symmetry. Away from a simple passageway, the central area of the columbarium presents itself as a space that not only connects the two side aisles, but also incorporates the entire room. This has been transformed into a hall through which visitors can walk. The existing terrazzo floor was restored and refurbished. It, the portal and the skylight panel in the ceiling of this area are united by a minimalist, graphic design. The skylight panel was given a new look and transformed into an LED-based, dimmable, homogeneous light surface. The portal, which spatially separates the columbarium from the area with the farewell rooms and cold rooms, was designed to match. The surface facing the columbarium is made of lacquered glass. The door handles are made of patinated brass and form a cross in their arrangement. During the conversion of the chapel, attention was also paid to accessibility - by building a wheelchair-accessible ramp.

www.pfeifferarchitektur.de

Photos:
Katja Velmans
www.katjavelmans.de

(Published in CUBE Düsseldorf 03|24)