AWARDS

Mountain View Cemetery

• In February 2009, a Regional Award of Merit was awarded to LEES+Associates and Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg by the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) for work on the Mountain View Cemetery Masonic Redevelopment for the City of Vancouver. Mountain View Cemetery Project

Air India Memorial

• In March 2008, LEES+Associates received a CSLA National Award of Merit for the Air India Memorial in Stanley Park.
  (PDF) Canadian Society of Landscape Architects 'Awards of Excellence"

Woodlands Memorial Garden

• In October 2005, the BCACL presented LEES+Associates with a Partnership Award for their dedicated and creative design work on the Woodlands Memorial Garden during the BCACL 50th Anniversary Gala Celebration.
  

NEWS

• July 2010 – Ontario Office Opens – LEES+Associates is pleased to announce the official expansion into Ontario with the opening of our office in Newmarket, Ontario.  Located 20minutes north of Toronto in the York Region, we look forward to enhancing service to our clients in the Greater Toronto Area and reaching out to new clients throughout Ontario, Eastern Canada and the United States.  We bring to Ontario a wealth of knowledge and expertise in urban and rural open space planning, design and project management. These skills, combined with those in our Vancouver, BC office and the recent acquisition of high quality GPS equipment significantly increases the value and convenience we are able to offer our clients.
  
  
• July 2010 - ELAC undertakes Canada's first Green Audit for cemeteries
  As leaders in sustainable cemetery design, Lees + Associates has partnered with engineering firm “EcoIndustrial Solutions,” to complete Canada’s first cemetery environmental audit at Royal Oak Burial Park in Victoria. Our team is developing a series of cemetery-specific environmental indicators in key areas such as ghg emissions, energy consumption and water use which will be used to establish baselines for site environmental performance. An analysis of these baselines in light of cemetery operations will determine where meaningful improvements can be made. Our green audit reports will be site-specific and provide a prioritized framework of actions that can be taken to improve cemetery environmental performance. The reports will be tailored to each site’s operational needs and provide cemetery operators a functional and meaningful tool for improving the sustainability of their sites.
  
  
• On April 24 2010, ELAC Associates attended "The Final Disposition," a forum on de-mystifying death, funerals, cemeteries and ceremonies, hosted by Vancouver's Mountain View Cemetery. (PDF) The Final Disposition - Brochure
  
  
• On April 14 2010, Principal Erik Lees and Senior Associate Catriona Hearn led a successful tour of the Woodlands, the green burial area at Royal Oak Burial Park in Victoria. Over 50 delegates visited the site, which was designed by LEES+Associates in 2009, as part of the FSABC/CCABC joint annual conference.
  
  
• An open competition for a new cemetery at Järvafältet, Stockholm
  LEES + Associates recently teamed with Birmingham & Wood Architects in an open competition for a new cemetery in Järvafältet, Stockholm. The purpose of the competition was to create a sustainable vision, design and phasing plan for the 42 hectare site. The project site is complex, with archaeologically significant areas, a protected agrarian landscape and a large artificial hill made from blasting rubble from nearby housing developments. Current uses of the site include allotment gardens, an internationally acclaimed disc golf course and a jump off point for hang-gliders. The new cemetery will be developed incrementally to allow these users to stay on the site for as long as possible, combining active, intense uses with grieving and memory. The overall design includes a ceremonial building, 25-30 hectares of usable cemetery space and a recreational footpath and cycle track network. Results of the competition will be released in late Spring 2010.
  
  
• A Night For All Souls, 2009 at Mountain View Cemetery
  On October 30, 2009 the 5th annual Night For All Souls event was held at Mountain View Cemetery. The event was created to provide opportunities for the public to commemorate their dead in a family oriented community art event. The following video shows the history behind the creation of this unique and spiritual event. Courtesy of Gord Inglis and Greater Dot Vancouver tv. Story and video provided by gvtv.

• September 29, 2009 - The Canadian Agency of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission rededicated the JONES 45 Section of Mountain View Cemetery in an official ceremony. LEES+Associates was retained to undertake conceptual design, construction documentation and contract administration for the renovation project.
  
  
• Canada’s First Green Burial at Royal Oak Burial Park
  On November 6, 2008 Canada’s first green burial took place at “The Woodlands,” situated in Royal Oak Burial Park in Victoria, BC. LEES + Associates was retained by Royal Oak to design this interment area, which is the first natural burial area in Canada to be developed within an existing cemetery. The following document describes the philosophy and concept of the green burial area at Royal Oak. (PDF) Green Burial At Royal Oak
  
  
  

Recently Appointed

• City of Welland Cemetery Land Needs Assessment, ON

Welland Cemetery Services maintains and operates 2 municipal cemeteries - Woodlawn and Doan’s Ridge. The City is now approaching an important threshold in the evolution of its cemetery services: unless actions are taken soon, limited space, community preferences and challenging site conditions in the existing cemeteries will likely result in insufficient desirable cemetery space within the next 3-5 years. As a first phase of an overall Master Planning process, Lees+Associates will undertake a spatial and community needs analysis to determine how the City can continue to provide appropriate memorialization and interment services to its citizens over the next 80-100 years.

• Ross Bay Cemetery Business Plan Update, Victoria, BC

Ross Bay Cemetery is a site of significant historic and cultural value for the City of Victoria. In operation for nearly 150 years, the site has been identified by the Victoria Old Cemeteries Society as one of Canada’s oldest and largest remaining Victorian Cemeteries. LEES+Associates has been retained by the City to provide staff and Council with an updated business plan, including short and long term goals and a detailed financial analysis, prior to the reactivation of the cemetery. The objective of the project is to develop an innovative and functional business plan, supported by practical and affordable action steps that will move the cemetery towards financial sustainability.

• Wood Buffalo Urban & Rural Cemetery Development and Design, AB

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo is approaching a turning point as a community striving to meet the needs of residents and plan for future generations. LEES + Associates has been retained by the RMWB to assist in selecting new cemetery lands and expanding rural cemeteries that are nearing capacity. This is key to ensuring residents have special places to memorialize and remember friends and family who have died.