Boyne Tannum Memorial Parklands

While the function of a cemetery is to preserve the memory of the departed as they were, it arguably serves to suggest continuity as well. In a tranquil parkland setting, the material world of commerce, industry, and politics seems removed enough for the memorial to serve as a bubble in time, but in nature as in all things there is at least gradual change. The design of the Boyne Tannum Memorial Parklands embraces this creation of isolation and slowed time, but integrated within the continuum of its bushland environs, and of a cycle of life. Its materials are allowed to rusticate, and to acquire a character of their own, to look aged more than worn. This aspect of the project comes from the architects’ appreciation of the importance of change in the process of mourning the loss of a loved one.

The memorial facilities are minimal in the way we have come to expect from architects sensitive to the Australian bushland landscape, creating an enclosure which imposes as little as possible on the landscape, letting it into the building while intelligently manipulating simple materials to ensure comfort and an appropriate state of mind for the function of the facilities. The multi-religious chapel’s most salient features are the metal-clad roof which provides large overhangs and literally touches the ground in a folding form where shade is necessary, and the otherwise open glazed skin, which frames views of the river inlet and its surround. The building is twisted slightly off axis to be oriented to this view. The 80–100 seat chapel is the ‘shelter’ component of the project, where the memorial services will take place, and is complemented by the ‘landscape’ walls outside.

The two landscape masonry walls define the forecourt of the chapel, a singular but permeable space which allows the bush to enter the scene. Once visitors approach the chapel having traveled a suitably windy entry road, they are welcomed to a sight dominated by large trees and planting left from prior to construction, and to a palette of building materials which are understated, low-maintenance, and changeable. For a large portion of the exposed timber elements, recycled timber was used, and in places rusty steel becomes a feature cladding element.

An aim and natural consequence of the minimal understated style of the chapel and its surrounds is of course that it requires very little environmental adjustment. The need for mechanical ventilation is minimised, and the chapel takes advantage of the evaporative cooling effect of the river inlet by capturing the breezes which run over it. And being recycled of course, a significant portion of the materials have low embodied energy.

An aim and natural consequence of the minimal understated style of the chapel and its surrounds is of course that it requires very little environmental adjustment. The need for mechanical ventilation is minimised, and the chapel takes advantage of the evaporative cooling effect of the river inlet by capturing the breezes which run over it. And being recycled of course, a significant portion of the materials have low embodied energy. +

1 Breezes over the river inlet help cool the chapel, which requires little mechanical ventilation. 2 Much of the exposed timber in this project was recycled. 3 Unpretentious materials and their use suggest an honest mood of reflection and calm. 4 The chapel building is titled slightly off axis in order to frame views of the river inlet and its surrounding bushland.

PHOTOGRAPHY by David Sanderson