(Translated by ChatGPT) Entering Mandai North Crematorium: Reconciling Life and Death Amid Light, Shadow and Greenery
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Translated by ChatGPT
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/lifestyle/design-decor/story20260308-8646572?utm_source=android-share&utm_medium=app
2026-03-08
Lianhe Zaobao
Reported by Lim Fang Wei
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The Mandai North Crematorium, which began operations in 2025, was designed by a team led by architect Pauline Ang. Using the language of contemporary architecture, it removes ethnic and religious symbolism, using pure spatial design to soothe the human heart. The three main spaces—memorial, final viewing, and cremation—are arranged along the same horizontal line, enabling automated movement of coffins. The building incorporates biophilic design, bringing greenery into spaces on every level. Light and shadow filter through glass skylights, easing grief amid vibrant life. This space, built at the boundary between life and death, makes farewell feel lighter and warmer.
As she slowly stepped into Memorial Hall No. 7 at Mandai North Crematorium, architect Pauline Ang softly asked the reporter, “How does it feel? Do you like it?”
Few people are asked whether they like a memorial hall. Usually, grieving relatives and friends are too sorrowful to think carefully about whether they like the place where they bid their final farewell to a loved one. Standing in the center of the hall, the reporter followed the glass skylight upward with her gaze—the afternoon sunlight filtered through hanging green branches, softly illuminating the pale maple wood seats inside. At that moment, the heaviness in her heart gradually dissipated, replaced by a feeling of relief and lightness. The reporter was a little surprised to hear her own voice saying, “I like this space.”
Pauline Ang (center), director of the Design and Research Studio at CPG Consultants, designed and supervised the construction of the Mandai North Crematorium and the Garden of Serenity for ash scattering. Assisting her were Zhang Yingying (left), responsible for architectural coordination, and architect Gao Xianzhe. (Photo by Bai Yanlin)
Mandai North Crematorium and the Garden of Serenity, an ash-scattering garden, opened on August 15, 2025. The entire facility occupies 2.4 hectares. The crematorium has six memorial halls with adjoining viewing rooms where family and friends can bid farewell to the deceased. There are also 18 cremation furnaces on site.
The Mandai Crematorium, completed in 2004, stands next to the new Mandai North Crematorium. As Singapore’s population ages, the annual number of deaths is expected to rise from 25,000 in 2024 to 40,000 by 2040. Operating the two crematoria simultaneously is therefore a necessary measure.
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Construction of Mandai North Crematorium began in June 2017, with architectural design undertaken by the local CPG Group. The group’s history can be traced back to the former Public Works Department established in 1833. The Mandai Crematorium completed in 2004 was also designed by it. Leading the current design was Pauline Ang (49), director of the Design and Research Studio at CPG Consultants, who followed the Mandai North project for more than ten years.
The reporter had always thought that funeral ceremonies exist to soothe the grief of the living. But architect Pauline Ang broadened the perspective: “A crematorium can be seen as the final chapter in the architecture of life. This space serves not only the living but also the dead—it is both an endpoint and a boundary, a border between life and death that allows the living to say goodbye properly. When designing it, architects must comfort the sorrow of the living while also giving the deceased their final dignity.”
Eliminating the Factory Image of a Crematorium
To mark the completion of Mandai North Crematorium, CPG published a book titled The Making of Mandai North Crematorium. Pauline Ang, who holds a master’s degree in architecture from Columbia University in the United States, wrote a chapter for the book titled “How to Say Goodbye: The Architecture of Crematoria.” She said that as Western societies shifted from burial to cremation, crematoria emerged as a new architectural form in the early 20th century.
The difference between a “place” and a “factory” is sometimes only a fine line. Ang describes the practical operation of a crematorium as “factory-like”: “Returning to its essence, the core function of a crematorium is the technical process of cremating remains. In architectural terms, it is more like a factory than a sacred place.” Such frank wording can indeed be startling. She said that to remove this image, crematoria later incorporated spaces for memorial ceremonies, reflecting humanity’s philosophical reflections on life and death.
To mark the completion of Mandai North Crematorium, CPG published the book The Making of Mandai North Crematorium. (Photo by Lim Fang Wei)
Singapore’s land resources are extremely limited. Since 1998, burial plots have been limited to a maximum of 15 years, after which the land must be cleared for new graves or other developments. At that time, the government will compulsorily exhume the remains, which will be cremated or relocated and then reinterred in private columbaria. This policy has changed traditional thinking about burial, and cremation has now largely replaced burial as the common choice.
The current site of Mandai North Crematorium was first built in 1982 to cremate exhumed remains. After operating for 30 years, the facility was demolished. Five years later, construction of Mandai North Crematorium began on the same site. Ang said the new-generation crematorium serves people of different races and faiths, and therefore removes ethnic and religious symbolism, adopting the language of contemporary architectural design.
Mandai North Crematorium removes ethnic and religious symbolism and adopts contemporary architectural design language. (Provided by CPG Group, photo by Finbarr Fallon)
Ang explained that the final viewing of the coffin being automatically moved to the cremation chamber symbolizes the deceased completing the final stretch of their journey in this world. When the coffin disappears behind the door, the cremation process begins. This process is unique to Singapore. In Eastern and Western cultures, attitudes toward witnessing the flames of cremation differ—Western societies often view cremation as brutal and unnatural, while some cultures see it as rebirth through fire.
As the younger generation adopts a more open perspective toward death, people are constantly reexamining the distance between the living and death, interpreting it in different ways. Ang said that in the old Mandai Crematorium, the farewell room was built above the coffin transfer corridor, and the living had to look down to watch the deceased complete the final journey. In the new Mandai North facility, the farewell room and transfer corridor are on the same level, separated only by a pane of glass, allowing the living to send off the coffin into the cremation chamber from a closer distance.
Memorial, Farewell, and Cremation on the Same Level
When planning the crematorium’s spaces, Ang revealed that architects must design two different circulation paths within the same building—one for the living and one for the deceased. She calls this “choreographing the final farewell.” The National Environment Agency has promoted automation in coffin movement to reduce manpower. Therefore, coffins must move in a straight line on the same level, and the three key spaces—memorial, farewell, and cremation—must be aligned along the same horizontal plane.
Within the same building, architects must design two different circulation paths for the living and the deceased. (Provided by CPG Group, photo by Finbarr Fallon)
Funeral attendees have two routes to reach the memorial hall. Those driving enter from Level 2 at the ground floor, while those arriving by hired bus disembark on Level 1 and then take escalators or elevators up to Level 1. After the hearse stops outside the hall, the coffin is placed onto an automated guided vehicle (AGV). Architects embedded reflective metal plates into pillars and seats so the automated vehicle can use emission and reflection technology for precise positioning and navigation, guiding the coffin automatically into the memorial hall, the transfer hall, and finally to the cremation chamber.
Reflective metal plates on pillars and seats allow the automated vehicle to accurately position and navigate through emission and reflection technology, guiding the coffin’s movement. (Provided by CPG Group, photo by Finbarr Fallon)
Mandai North Crematorium is built according to the terrain. The cremation facilities, which require very high ceilings, are placed at the highest point at the rear of the site. This arrangement both meets functional needs and uses space effectively. The spatial sequence—memorial, farewell, transfer, cremation—progresses layer by layer, creating a rational and simple circulation route that reflects Singaporean efficiency.
A space that simplifies procedures and makes everything clear at a glance can indeed make grief feel lighter. However, when the procedures of life and death are outsourced to technology and lack human warmth, it may feel too cold for the families of the deceased. On August 22, 2025, Lianhe Zaobao published a thought-provoking report titled: “Scanning a QR code to collect ashes—is it too impersonal?”
Introducing Large Amounts of Greenery to Soothe the Soul
Ang pointed out that the architectural team collaborated with landscape architecture firm Plantwerkz, incorporating extensive biophilic design to cleverly overcome spatial and environmental limitations at Mandai North. The crematorium is located next to a busy highway and nearby columbaria, so the team introduced plants and gardens into spaces on every level, creating a lush green world of its own.
Mandai North Crematorium and the Garden of Serenity adopt biophilic design. (Provided by CPG Group, photo by Finbarr Fallon)
In addition, vibrant greenery can soothe the human spirit and help ease grief and tension. On Level 1, the waiting area places seats around a sunken garden, while glass skylights bring in abundant natural light. When funeral attendees take the elevator or escalator up to Level 1, they are greeted along the path to the memorial hall by expansive greenery from the Garden of Serenity ahead. Inside the hall, green branches hang from the skylights, and natural light pours into the interior, as if gently embracing both the living and the dead, comforting grieving hearts.
Along the path to the memorial hall, funeral attendees are greeted by the expansive greenery of the Garden of Serenity. (Provided by CPG Group, photo by Finbarr Fallon)
A skylight at the front of the memorial hall brings in natural light, with hanging greenery outside the window. (Provided by CPG Group, photo by Finbarr Fallon)
The biophilic concept runs through every design detail of the facility. Ang noted that the limestone panels on the building’s exterior are carved with irregular vertical lines in relief, echoing the hanging plants from the skylights. Mandai North Crematorium and the Garden of Serenity also provide the public with a non-traditional and environmentally friendly burial option. She said that from a bird’s-eye view, the Garden of Serenity is designed in the shape of a leaf, while the paths for scattering ashes within the garden spread out like the veins of a leaf. Four winding paths run through the garden, and families may choose any of them to scatter the ashes of their loved ones onto pebbles, allowing the ashes to naturally seep into the soil.
The limestone panels on the building’s exterior are carved with irregular vertical lines in relief, echoing the hanging plants from the skylights. (Provided by CPG Group, photo by Finbarr Fallon)
The image of green leaves evokes deep reflection. Fallen leaves return to their roots—humans are like leaves drifting down from the tree of life, returning to nature and being reborn.
The Garden of Serenity is shaped like a leaf, with ash-scattering paths arranged like leaf veins. (Provided by CPG Group, photo by Finbarr Fallon)
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