FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY

“A RESEARCH AND CASE STUDY ON COLUMBARIUM

AND MORTUARY BUILDINGS”

SUBMITTED BY:

MODINA, PATRICIA ANNE M.

MARANAN, YLAIZA KEITH C.
MERCADO, DISHELLA KRISHAE R.
AR 38 / DESIGN 531
WS / 3:00 PM- 8:00 PM

SUBMITTED TO:

AR. A. D.
SARMIENTO
DATE:

SEPT. 23, 2015

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 I. INTRODUCTION:
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides interment and funeral services for the dead and their
families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral.

Funeral homes arrange services in accordance with the wishes of surviving friends
and family, whether immediate next of kin or an executor so named in a legal will. The
funeral home takes care of the necessary paperwork, permits, and other details, such as
making arrangements with the cemetery, and providing obituaries to the news media.

Cremation is a major part of the cemetery and funeral industry, and has
Columbarium Of San
Francisco been increasing
at a rapid rate each year because as the baby-boomer generation increases in age, they are demanding more burial opportunities for
themselves and their loved ones.

Many cultures prefer to bury their dead in cemeteries or single graves, but this requires a lot of land. Cremating the dead and
storing the ashes in a building or other chamber is often a more practical solution. This kind of structure, called a columbarium,
has a long history and continues to be used today.

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 Interior of a columbarium in yle columbarium at Nan
Oakland, Detail of the columbarium at Père Lachaise
A modern Chinese-stollongong, Australia.
California (Julia Morgan's Chapel of the Tien Temple in Cemetery, Paris.
W
Chimes)
A consistent part of our cemetery and funeral home design has
included special considerations for cremation. It is called a columbarium. A columbarium is a place for the respectful and usually
public storage of cinerary urns in example urns holding a deceased’s cremated remains. The term comes from the Latin Columba
(dove) and originally referred to compartmentalized housing for doves and pigeons called a dovecote.

II. BACKGROUND:

Roman columbaria were often built partly or completely underground. The Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas is a
particularly fine ancient Roman example, rich in frescoes, decorations and precious mosaics. The Western concept of the
columbarium originated in ancient Rome, where the word originally referred to a dovecote, a similar structure for housing
pigeons. Columbaria for housing the remains of the deceased originated with the Romans about 25 B.C., and were typically in
underground vaults. Some were built by the rich for their current or former slaves, while others were maintained by societies
called collegia that reserved the spaces for their paying members.

A columbarium is an underground chamber, which the Romans used for preserving the ashes of the dead. During the 1st and
2nd centuries CE, hundreds of columbaria lined the consular highways leading out of Rome, although

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 now only some two dozen are extant. Carefully organised, with neatly stuccoed
ceilings, frescoed walls, and mosaic floors, columbaria are not to be confused with
catacombs—long rambling underground galleries with crude recesses, which have
been gouged out of the living tufa rock and used for inhumation. Since a columbarium
represents a self-contained environment, it is ideal for evaluating the funerary rites
and commemorative customs of ancient Romans who banded together for a common
purpose: the eventual cremation, preservation, and memorialisation of their earthly
Columbarium of Freedmen
remains.

The widespread use of columbaria is a phenomenon of the city of Rome, although small columbaria may also be found in
Etruria and Campania. Their mass construction seems associated with Augustus’ reforms of Rome’s archaic burial laws.
Columbaria represent an acceptable economic means of serving the needs of an ever-growing population of slaves and freed
slaves.

III. DESIGNING A COLUMBARIUM IN MODERN TIMES:

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 Today's columbaria can be either free standing units, or part of a mausoleum
or another building. Some manufacturers produce columbaria are built entirely off- that
site and brought to the cemetery by a large truck. Many modern crematoria have
columbaria. Fine examples of these are the columbaria in Père Lachaise Cemetery
in Paris and Golders Green Crematorium in London.
Golders Green Crematorium
Columbaria are often closely similar in form to traditional Buddhist
temples, which from ancient times have housed cremated ashes. In Buddhism, ashes of the deceased may be placed in a columbarium
(in Chinese, a naguta ("bone-receiving pagoda"); in Japanese, a nokotsudo ("bone-receiving hall")), which can be either attached to or
a part of a Buddhist temple or cemetery. This practice allows for the family of the deceased to visit the temple for the conduct of
traditional memorials and ancestor rites.

A consistent part of cemetery and funeral home design has included special considerations for cremation. For example, some
specifically designed niche sections (for cremains) on a separate level from garden crypts (for casket burials) in the Mausoleums.
Some also developed numerous columbarium complexes, an ossuary and memorial wall, and scatter garden to be incorporated
throughout the cemetery to provide veterans with multiple options should they choose cremation.

There are quite a number of modern columbarium established in the metropolis. Although they still serve the same purpose as
that of a traditional columbarium, a modern columbarium has added luxuries that may attract consumers.

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 1. Clean lines and sleek outer structure – Traditional columbarium in
Manila are usually located inside churches, temples or cemeteries. These
structures, however accustomed we are to seeing them, may still give off
an uninviting vibe. Even though the intricate and heavy designs that
surround these places may seem mesmerizing to some, it can still possess
an aura that is far from the
mainstream interpretation of peace, which is light.
Modern columbarium is designed to express this meaning of peace at the Ming Palace

same time, blend with other contemporary buildings

that are present in the city. Most of them have a simple exterior painted with earthy colors, surrounded by green grass, if
not the city pavements. Some may even appear as one-story structures, while others go as high as hotel buildings. Without
the signage that will label the structure as a columbarium, one may not be able to guess that the place actually houses urns
of the dead based on its exterior.

2. Bright interior – Compared to modern columbarium, traditional ones normally have dim lighting. They depend on
natural light to illuminate the whole place and have standard lights (florescent or yellow light) to brighten up the place at
night. With this, designers of modern columbarium included pin lights that are often used in the interior museums. Not
only does this brighten the place, but it also gives a sense of ease to visitors who fear visiting tombs.

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Ming Palace
 3. Advance facilities – Modern columbarium offer more advance facilities
compared to traditional columbarium. More often than not, these
structures are fully air-conditioned. The centralized air- conditioning
system adds to the comfort of visitors especially during hot summer
days. Moreover, these establishments are equipped with elevators and
escalators if ever they are more than one-story high. Modern
columbarium also has state-of-the-art communal comfort rooms just as
those in malls or hotels.

Sanctuarium possesses the façade of

The cremation urns or boxes are usually a specific size and are
placed inside the lined columbarium niche. The door is then
closed and locked. Niche doors may be decorated with the
deceased’s photo, or symbols of their life.

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 IV. DESIGN SPACES REQUIREMENTS:
1. Chapel
2. Lobby 8. Lounge
3. Information Center 9. Offices
4. Remembering Chapel 10. Cremation Chamber/ Crematorium
5. Viewing Reception 11. Galleries
6. Memorial Walls 12. Storage
7. Niche Section 13. Flower & Souvenir Shops

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 14.
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V. CASE STUDY:
18. LOCAL:
19. St. Therese’s Columbarium – Located at Newport City, Villamor, Pasay City, St. Therese’s Columbarium
houses an estimate of 38,000 imported vaults in air-conditioned alfresco and
areas. It also features amenities such as security access and basement
parking. An Ecclesiastical museum featuring a life-sized artwork on the life
of St. Therese and a solemn Remembering chapel where masses are held in
daily remembrance of the dead.
Furthermore, unlike any other, St. Therese’s houses a digital archive of the
memories of the inurned persons for future viewing by
the families and friends of the departed.
20. It is apparent that modernity has taken over the present and generation and will most likely take over the generations
to come. Though this may be the case, we can be certain that the past will keep influencing the present
to create a better future.
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28. The St.
Thérèse

Columbarium houses close to 38,000 imported vaults or niches. Each vault can fit up to four urns. The Columbarium has five (5)
main areas: La Chapelle des Roses or the Remembering Chapel, La Vie de Sainte Therese or The Life of Saint Therese, Les Murs
de Lisieux (The Walls of Lisieux), Les Murs d' Alencon (The Walls of Alencon) and Les Murs de Carmel (The Walls of Carmel).
The Columbarium also features an Ecclesiastical Museum where art about the life
of St. Thérèse are displayed.
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LOBBY
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REMEMBERING CHAPEL

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MURS
DU

LISEIUEX

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 61. INTERNATIONAL:

62. Sacred Heart Columbarium-

Calgary, Alberta

63. The Holy Land Columbarium was completed in May,

2011. There are over 2000 niches that hold 1, 2 and 3 urns each.

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78. Holy See Columbarium was completed in June, 2013. There are over 830 niches holding 2 urns each, while the end niches hold
up to 4 urns.

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95. Sacred Heart Columbarium offers a variety of niche locations, all peacefully designed. Colourful stain glass
windows brighten the rooms, and comfortable seating is provided throughout.

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VI. REFERENCES:
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 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/columbarium
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbarium
 http://www.ehow.com/about_5070959_columbarium.html
 http://www.ancient.eu/article/764/
 https://mortusmagazine.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/modern-columbariums-in-the-philippines/
 http://www.columbariumcalgary.ca

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