cedar hall norfolk

RIDBA Awards 2019 'Public Services' Award

The award ceremony was hosted by TV presenter Lucy Cooke, who is best known for presenting the popular wildlife show Springwatch

The Cedar Hall at Norfolk Bluebell Wood Burial Park in Hainford (just North of Norwich) took first place in the 'Public Services' category at the Awards Ceremony which took place on Friday 15th March 2019 in Nottingham.

The award ceremony was hosted by TV presenter Lucy Cooke, who is best known for presenting the popular wildlife show Springwatch.

A new build in an established woodland burial park. The Ceremonial Hall was built to offer families a tranquil venue to allow a dignified funeral within the Park laying their loved ones to rest within Norfolk Bluebell Woods  beautiful grounds. The Cedar Hall provides seating for 120 people with a further standing room for 80 (total capacity of 200 people); 'a state of the art' audio and visual system has been installed together with bespoke lighting - all controlled from a dedicated control room. A disabled lavatory and kitchen are also provided for all families with underfloor heating throughout taken from a ground source heat pump underneath the car park. 

Norfolk Bluebell Wood’s (NBW) intrinsic design requirement was that the buildings aesthetics were to be tranquil and blend in with the immediate environment. In order to achieve this, olive green roof panels and extensive Cedar cladding on the exterior elevations were chosen to blend with the surrounding woodland. These materials were complemented with solid oak joinery for all glazing and doors.

In preparation for the installation of the Ground Source Heat Pump, 1000 metres of pipe-work was installed underneath the car park back in 2015, to ensure that the future installation and connection of the Ground Source Heat Pump was a simple and easy process. The Ground Source Heat Pump was later linked up to the Cedar Hall's underfloor heating and water systems when it was installed in early 2018. The Ground Source Heat Pump has the ability to adapt to the temperature outside as means necessary. This means that there are minimal operating costs and no expensive peaks when the weather turns bitterly cold outside.

To reduce the carbon footprint of the construction, Norfolk Bluebell Wood worked closely with local professional design teams and tradesmen, sourcing 95% of all materials from local builder’s merchants. 

The judges felt that this project adds value to the local community by offering families a tranquil venue to spend time with loved ones.

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