Cemeteries: 10 places of final destination

As the end of October approaches, half of the world is getting ready to commemorate the departed and all souls. Here a selection of stories that trigger emotions through architecture, design and art. We have an a “peaceful oasis” for mourners, old and new cemeteries, alternative burial rituals and meditation spaces to fight fear among others. 

—  Béton brut crematorium offers a “peaceful oasis” for mourners. KAAN Architecten selected a palette of marble, concrete and oak to imbue a sense of calm on the grieving process at Crematorium Siesegem in Aalst, Belgium.

— Where is the toilet, please? Within the old cemetery of Ílhavo, architecture firm M2.senos renovated the central bathrooms building inspired by Portuguese ceramic tradition.

— Sweden. Gert Wingårdh built an emerald pavilion in a park cemetery. The combination of glass and cross-laminated timber allows the cemetery administration building to integrate with the landscape.

— Japan. David Chipperfield completed a contemplative building in red. The chapel and the visitor centre for Inagawa Cemetery sit on a steep site in the Hokusetsu Mountain Range of Hyogo prefecture.

—  The new crematorium in Lommel is a contemporary ruin. The building by a2o architecten surfaces as an ancient and enigmatic presence within the natural landscape, restored to its primordial conditions.

— In Berlin a cemetery becomes a park and community garden. The cemetery of Neukölln has become a natural oasis within the city where to experiment new ways of using green areas that have escaped cemetification.

– After years of design and initiatives, the project that will reverse our way of conceiving today’s burial techniques, transforming cemeteries into forests, has finally been launched.

— Quoting Platon, Giacometti and the Xi’an warriors, Muka Arquitectura designed the enlargment of a municipal cemetery in Lozoya, Spain, creating a conceptual transition.

—  The pavilion by CN10 architetti is in contrast with the big extension of the existent cemetery to create a collected, protected, intimate and measured place. — Bianco + Gotti Architetti: chapels in Cavenago Cemetery. Architecture for the departed helps the living to remember.