Green is the New Black’: Sustainability in Contemporary UK Crematorium Design.

Environmental issues have been at the forefront of crematorium design in the UK since the passing of the 1990 Environmental Protection Act. In 2005 Defra introduced a further requirement for the cremation industry to remove mercury from 50% of cremations, resulting in the need to accommodate costly filtration equipment in crematoria. This caused considerable problems for outdated buildings, particularly the many chapel conversions of the 1950s and 1960s, and presented significant financial and architectural challenges in the design of new crematoria. In 2006 the cremation industry responded imaginatively to emission compliance by creating CAMEO, the lead organization providing and managing a national burden sharing scheme, whereby emissions are negotiated between crematoria. For its part, the architectural profession responded with innovative and thoughtful design solutions in tune with current environmental thinking.

This paper will explore contemporary crematorium design in the UK, with a particular emphasis on the work of Robert Potter & Partners, architects of award-winning Roucan Loch Crematorium, Dumfries and Galloway (2005) and South Lanarkshire Crematorium, Blantyre (2006). The partnership’s much acclaimed Oak Chapel Crematorium at Milton Keynes (2010-2011) privileges high standards of energy conservation by means of natural ventilation by wind towers on the roof, and heating generated from the cremators. The work of Stride Treglowan for the Westerleigh Group at Livingstone Crematorium (2010) and Melrose Crematorium in The Borders (2011), further illustrates the ways in which wider environmental aspects of crematorium design and landscapes have been addressed.