Arbour Columbaria

Established circa 1869, Fraser Cemetery is one of the oldest public cemeteries in British Columbia. Typical of many North American burial grounds, this cemetery began to experience a shortage of space for burials in the late 20th century resulting in a shortfall of funds to fully care for the facility. We identified three potential pilot projects that would provide interments at a higher density to increase capacity and revenue. After a lengthy review, the Arbour Columbaria was selected for design development and construction.The project consists of a renovation to a very modest 300 square foot building which houses the cemetery office and lunchroom, a new pedestrian entry, an underground communal ash vault, and above-ground columbaria for individual and family interments. These columbaria are framed by an arbour structure planted with wisteria to create an elongated processional path.In total, there is capacity for 975 new interments in the previously unused 11 by 160 foot slope at the edge of the cemetery.