| 67 T T Virginia Wright Bringing a breath of fresh air The crematorium refurbishment project won a Highly Commended Award for Commercial Architecture in the 2025 ADNZ Resene Architectural Design Awards. Chapple Architecture ARCHITECTURE Susie Elms worked under David Chapple for many years before eventually buying his practice Chapple Architecture in 2006 when he retired. She credits him with being both a good architect and a good mentor and she has continued the Palmerston North based practice along the same lines, enjoying a good mixture of projects. Susie’s grateful for their solid foundation of existing clients which keeps them going in good times and bad, including the Ministry of Education, commercial developers, local construction companies, and the Palmerston North City Council with whom they enjoy a longstanding relationship. It was one of the City Council’s projects, the refurbishing of their Crematorium, that recently won Susie and her team a Highly Commended Award for Commercial Architecture in the 2025 ADNZ Resene Architectural Design Awards, as well as the Regional Award for Commercial Interiors and Fitouts, and the Regional Award for Resene Colour and Design which makes them a contender in the Nationals for both awards. “We were working with the engineer who had the job of seismically strengthening it. We spent a lot of time ensuring that the sheer walls and the additions that were improving the building’s stability were aesthetically pleasing and complementary to the existing, quite distinctive brutalist, art deco building which had some really nice shapes and circular windows at the top,” Says Susie. “We were able to bring a breath of fresh air at the same time because it was looking a bit dated and drab.” It was a complex project which meant they worked closely with the engineers, the construction company and all the contractors over a lengthy period of time, punctuated by fortnightly site meetings to address any issues, which allowed Chapple to ensure their architectural vision was followed through when details needed attention. All the key players attended, including the Council, and someone from the Crematorium, which remained operational throughout, although any service or public ceremony was held offsite. As the job progressed Chapple Architecture was offered and gladly accepted the opportunity to continue its vision into the interior. “We were able to bring a breath of fresh air at the same time because it was looking a bit dated and drab.” “We were really lucky in the sense that we had to replace the whole chapel carpet, and we were able to design an Axminster carpet with a wide format circular pattern on it that reflected the windows, so we used that as a theme. “Our basis was that the only colour was on the carpet and the rest of the building inside and out was very light. I made up a sample of everything and had a meeting with Kathy Dever-Tod who was effectively the client at council and I remember it word for word. She said, ‘Susie I was really hoping you were going to suggest something like this’ because the pattern wasn’t really the norm, so it was quite an adventurous decision to go with it.” That decision among many others, along with the skillful and discreet inclusion of functional requirements such as the bespoke audio-visual system installed by local experts VAAV, with technology allowing people with hearing aids to connect into it directly, all combined to bring Susie and her team their well-deserved awards. One of the judge’s comments says it all. “This is a project of quiet power, demonstrating how interior architecture can support both practical needs and profound emotional experiences.” For the people of Palmerston North it means they have a beautifully refurbished, seismically sound, highly functional yet peaceful place where they will be able to safely honour their dead for many years to come. • Quantity Surveying • Bank Reports • Budget Estimates • Contract Administration Reg QS, MNZIQS, NatDipQS, NatDipCM, NatCertCarp, Sitewise H & S Gold EARL QUANTITY SURVEYING Hayden 027 255 4977 COMMERCIAL Proudly supporting Chapple Architecture · Commercial electrical · Residential electrical · Fire and security alarms Manager Dean Berendt 06 350 1006 | enquiries@maxtarr.co.nz | www.maxtarr.co.nz
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