LEES+Associates was delighted to work with Vancouver-based monument builder and sculptor, Dan Bellan, on the latest expansion area at Royal Oak Burial Park, in Victoria B.C.
The design team collaborated with Dan on the design, placement and refinement of monumental slabs of Vancouver Island white marble that are the key features at the cemetery’s new “BIRCH” and “MAGNOLIA” Sections.
We are pleased to announce that Victoria’s City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Parks and Open Spaces Master Plan!
The plan is the culmination of a year-long effort to create a strategic level roadmap to help guide the planning, management, and investment into the City’s parks system for the next 25 years.
“We’re running out of room because, as I characterize cemeteries, they’re the forgotten landscape, they’re the forgotten land use,” he said. “We’ve managed to, on the whole, build healthy cities with good infrastructure and downtown cores and housing…but we’ve really neglected the importance of remembrance and places of grief and mourning.”
Erik Lees was a guest on CTV News last month to discuss the issue of cemeteries running out of space.
LEES+Associates is pleased to announce that our Iqaluit Municipal Cemetery project is a recipient of the 2017 Canadian Society of Landscape Architects’ (CSLA) National Awards of Excellence.
The Iqaluit cemetery was purposefully designed to transform the community’s perception of what a cemetery can and should be.
Grow Green is a guide to creating and maintaining sustainable gardens and lawns using non-invasive, readily available plants in Metro Vancouver. The website provides a searchable database of plants that thrive in our local climate, without needing lots of water or chemicals. For people with lots of yard space or only a few containers,
Making a place for art!
LEES+Associates prepared the final concept and construction drawings for a proposed new town square in the Town of Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island. The community wanted to include a place for public art within the square, but by the time the project went to construction,
In 2011, Lees+Associates was commissioned to design customizable family columbaria for installation at the redeveloped Masonic Area at Mountain View Cemetery. The design had to be consistent with the existing improvements to the Masonic Area.
The first two custom family columbaria are now in place at the cemetery, and these photos (link to Flickr) show just how the installation was accomplished.
What is Green Burial:
Known under many names, including “natural burial,” “eco-burial,” “woodland burial,” and “country burial,” green burial is rooted in minimising the impact of human burial on the environment. While the level of “greenness” varies, in practice, a green burial is considered to have at least two of the following pillars:
Does not include embalming;
LEES+Associates has undertaken a range of “Needs Assessments” for communities across Canada. The examined criteria for social need varies significantly in breadth and depth. Generally, our needs assessments have included a comprehensive review of a municipality or region’s expected demand for cemetery and crematorium services over 25 to 50 years and compared it to the available supply and quality of service in the community.
We’re very excited to welcome Adam Rogerson to the LEES+Associates team!
With remarkable experience working in the cemetery industry and a keen interest in sustainable design, Adam is committed to the effective integration of sustainable practices in cemetery planning and design. He also spent time abroad as an intern studying the impact of tourism on sensitive coastal ecosystems in the Caribbean.