CLIENT: MARSDEN HOUSE PARTNERSHIP | CONSULTANT ENGINEER: CRAIG THELIN |  COMPLETED: DECEMBER 2012 | AWARDS: NZIA COMMERCIAL AWARD 2013

Gardens of the World is a 2.4 hectare public 'Garden of Distinction', located near Hope, on the corner of Paton Road, and Clover Road East. It was founded by Geoff and Gillian Etherington, in 1990, as a 'special place' containing plant species from around the world.

The crematorium is located on the eastern end of the property, and designed as part of a new Remembrance Garden developed around a lake. The design provides for a chapel, crematorium, memorial room, and memorial courtyard.

The chapel forms the centrepiece of this complex in both a physical and spiritual sense. The Chapel is a carefully proportioned space constructed around the casket stand. The casket itself can be mechanically moved to the crematory, positioned immediately behind. The Chapel and Memorial Room are aligned, around a quiet courtyard containing a pond and the adjacent Memorial Wall. The key elements are centered on the surrounding Memorial Garden, and are visually linked with the body of flowing water. Functionally, the courtyard allows views, daylight and sunlight, whilst allowing for suitable privacy to be maintained. It also enables expansion of the Chapel capacity, and external services when desired.

Material selections have a timeless natural quality, with basalt paving, marble cladding, and jara posts - decorated by artist, Robin Slow. A feeling of solidity and permanence is created through the proposed use of stone cladding to the interior and exterior. Elsewhere, a stained glass window, on axis with the entry sequence, is a design by artist Jackie MacDonald and constructed by Francis Day.