Crematorium

The crematorium in the Zlín Forest Cemetery is the most significant realisation of his work with spiritual content of the architect Jiří Čančík. The cemetery is situated south of the city centre in the town of Kudlov. It was founded in 1932 by Tomáš Baťa according to the project of the important Zlín interwar architect František Lýdie Gahura. As early as 1959, the first negotiations on the need to establish a crematorium in Gottwaldov took place, and it was decided to gradually obtain documents and start design work. The design of the architect Jiří Čančík, an employee of the local Stavoprojekt, was selected for implementation. The ensemble includes an entrance building and a crematorium building with a ceremonial hall and operating section. Given the time of origin, it is designed in a completely untraditional and modern way. The construction was started after a series of negotiations in April 1975 and completed in September 1977, with approval obtained on April 14, 1978.
Both buildings are located in the north-western part of the cemetery at the main entrance, in front of and behind the cemetery wall, and were designed as single-storey structures. The main building of the crematorium has a basement in its operational and technological part. Horizontal load-bearing sections are made of reinforced concrete. The ceremonial hall with an area of 920 m2 is covered by a clad steel lattice structure (GYRO system) exceeding its floor plan. Most of the façade of the mourning hall is made of glass. Three glass walls connect the interior and exterior and allow visual contact with the surrounding greenery. This impressive open-space solution evokes an atmosphere of quiet meditation on one's return to nature, uniting with it, instilling calmness and helping to cope with the bereavement.
The sober interior of the ceremonial hall is enhanced by an innovative device for moving the coffin with an oblique departure behind a relief wall made of crystal glass called The Tree of Life by Stanislav Libenský and Jaroslava Brychtová. In addition to the reverential ceremonial hall with a music studio and a gallery for musicians, this part also contains a foyer, a waiting room for close relatives, and another room for other mourning guests. The interior is complemented by the tapestry Continuity of Life (Hope) by Vlasta Čančíková. The operating building is directly connected to the ceremonial hall on the north side. In this building there is a lighthouse with two gas cremators, an incinerator for burning flower gifts, a boiler room, cooling boxes, a crematorium control room, staff locker rooms, a staff room, and a technical entrance.
As part of the crematorium ensemble, a separate, originally single-storey entrance building in front of the cemetery gate was designed within the urban structure, where architect Čančík placed the crematorium administration, a flower hall, public toilets, a technical courtyard, and a car park. The spatial arrangement of the building with a rectangular floor plan was adapted to the desired purpose. The main facade had a covered gallery with columns. As with the crematorium building, a combination of ceramic tiles, Hořice sandstone, and glass walls with aluminium profiles was used. Unlike the ceremonial hall and the related technical operations, the entrance building was rebuilt in 1994 and apartments were added in the two-storey superstructure.
The investor for the construction was the Gottwaldov District National Committee, the general designer Stavoprojekt Gottwaldov, while the general contractor was the national company Průmyslové stavby Gottwaldov. The construction manager was engineer Petr Pinkava. The construction costs amounted to CZK 15,600,000. Through the implementation of Čančík's design, the city acquired a modern crematorium, which to this day operates without significant changes or construction interventions.

LH