With the introduction of this architectural piece we reorganized the accesses and ordered the extension of the municipal cemetery of Pedreguer. We designed a work that allows the celebration of non-denominational and non-directed ceremonies. Our intention was to provide users with a secluded place in which to reflect on their loss and say goodbye to family and friends.
A secluded place to reflect on the loss of loved ones and to say goodbye to family and friends.
The approach we gave to the work was that of a point of confluence between the earthly universe and the universe beyond. Inspired by the myth of Charon, we surrounded the space with a sheet of water that represents the transit between the two worlds. We decided to raise the structure with a pair of steps to symbolize how the loved ones of the deceased, through the memories and meditations that surface in the farewells, accompany them, in the boat, to the other side of the river.
Following the interpretation of the meditation space as an intersection between the mundane and the metaphysical, we designed two U-shaped pieces that interrelate. We chose different materials for each piece in order to give them the meaning of each world: the earth is hard and heavy; the sky is vaporous and light. The union of the two spaces and how they are affected by atmospheric conditions create that crossroads atmosphere that we wanted to highlight.
In this work, each world -each piece- has its own skin. The first of them, on the horizontal plane, refers to the earthly. For its representation we chose a heavy corten steel structure that we lightened with perforations. In this way we allow the passage of light and create an atmosphere of a tiny constellation around the mourners. The second, lighter and on the vertical plane, allows us to visualize the niches of the cemetery – the ultimate symbol of our earthly nature – but from an ethereal, reassuring point of view, achieved thanks to the stainless steel mesh. A secluded place in which to reflect on the loss of loved ones and to say goodbye to family and friends.
