Guildford Crematorium Wins Another Design Award

Published on: 5 May, 2022
Updated on: 7 May, 2022

Guildford Crematorium has won yet another design award. It is one of two buildings in Surrey to be given South East regional prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Guildford Crematorium. Photo by Simon Kennedy.

The highly acclaimed crematorium opened in 2019 and was shortlisted for the RIBA award earlier this year.

Other awards for the crematorium are Wood Award (Shortlisted, 2021), SPACES Award (Highly Commended, Community Category, 2021) and Guildford Society Design Award Winner (2020).

Crematorium topping out ceremony in 2019. Third from the left is Cllr Pauline Searle and third from the right is former council leader Caroline Reeves. Next to her, on her left as viewed, is former Conservative Ash South & Tongham councillor Nigel Kearse who oversaw the project.

Regional jury chair, Adam Richards, commenting on the winners, said: “Good architecture solves problems, makes places and shapes us as people. The significant number of school projects in this year’s RIBA South East Awards shows that many clients in the education sector recognise that working with good architects can add significant value. This value lies not just in mastering often-complex briefs, but also in adding quality buildings sensitively and creatively to school estates, for the benefit of students and staff.

“Other award-winning buildings demonstrate high standards in conservation, innovation and an understanding of the nature of place – harnessing the communicative power of architecture to mediate our understanding of life and death.”

The full list of RIBA South East Regional Award winners is shown below:

Surrey

Guildford Crematorium, Godalming, Haverstock Architects
Sir Sydney Camm Science + Technology, Claremont Fan Court School, Esher, Fletcher Crane Architects

East Sussex

Seabreeze, RX Architects

West Sussex

Morlands Farm Dutch Barn, West Sussex, Sandy Rendel Architects.

Kent

Aisher House, Sevenoaks School, Sevenoaks, Tim Ronalds Architects
Cobham Dairy, Cobham, Purcell Architects
The Mitchell Building, The Skinners’ School, Tunbridge Wells, Bell Phillips Architects

Responses to Guildford Crematorium Wins Another Design Award

Jeremy Holt Reply

May 5, 2022 at 11:45 am

Why do you report these architectural prizes awarded by luvvies to luvvies? Everyone ends up paying for the fantasies of a privileged few.

I remember reading a book by an eminent architect who suggested that prizes should be awarded after five or 10 years by the users of the buildings. He suggested that there might be fewer “disaster” buildings such as all-glass skyscrapers which resemble sunflowers as the blinds follow the sun.
Dave Middleton Reply

May 8, 2022 at 8:18 am

Are the recipients of this award the same people who designed the crematorium chimney almost a metre too short, requiring the subsequent fitting of an improvised extension?

As an aside, is the council’s report on that matter ever likely to be made public, or is this to be our very own ‘Chimneygate’ I wonder?
Anthony Mallard Reply

May 10, 2022 at 9:36 am

Mr Middleton should be cautious in his comment on the apparent lack of publication of the report regarding the chimney on the crematorium (which incidentally doesn’t appear to have any architectural merit) or the apparent thin skin of one or two of our politicians when faced with legitimate comment or criticism which may infect others on the council.

Oh yes, why hasn’t it been published? What happened to openness and transparency?