Pedro Dias Family Tomb

The contemporary architect re-thinks the funeral and memorial experience

This is the second in our look at how designers are re-thinking the funeral home.

Pedro Dias’ Family Tomb

tomb, death, coffin, funeral, burial, design, art, architecture

This astonishing tomb sits oddly yet comfortably between the two more traditional structures at its sides. Architect Pedro Dias designed this family tomb, located in the Portuguese Acor Mountains, with a focus to openness, both physically and spiritually. The design is reduced and rational, in stark contrast to the adjacent tombs, which are created in the heavy cathedral-like traditional design. Though the tomb is designed to house eight coffins, its most prominent feature is, in fact, the void at its center. This empty space invites visitors to experience the space, and the design frames the mountain landscape that surrounds the tombs. This allows visitors to engage with “both an inner contemplation and an outer one.”

“It’s a pleasing irony that the spatial void at the tomb’s heart should speak at once so clearly of absence and loss, and of the possibility of it being filled with the living.”

tomb, death, coffin, funeral, burial, design, art, architecture

The tomb is constructed of a prefabricated metal structure that was transported to the site and positioned with a crane onto a concrete slab, and finished with poured-concrete walls and a final stone cladding.

Says Simon Cowell, “It’s a pleasing irony that the spatial void at the tomb’s heart should speak at once so clearly of absence and loss, and of the possibility of it being filled with the living.”

Photo Source:
http://www.archdaily.com/96628/family-tomb-in-the-acor-mountains-pedro-dias/
FacebookTwitterPinterestShare
This entry was posted in Soulful Expressions and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

4 Responses to Pedro Dias Family Tomb

  1. avatar Crystal says:

    Powerful imagery – truly thought provoking!

    Report this comment

  2. avatar Elizabeth says:

    there’s a strange calmness when i look at this tomb… like the world is still. the cross on the ceiling gives it a very ethereal feeling.

    Report this comment

  3. avatar Kat says:

    Absolutely beautiful. Just looking at the images evokes a sense of calm within me. I can only imagine what it would be like to visit in person.

    Report this comment

  4. avatar B. Hernandez says:

    The window to the landscape is reminiscent of traveling on a train and I imagine that if I were in this space, because it is still, it would invite me to travel into the recesses of my mind and recall memories of my time with those in the tomb. Quite magical, really!

    Report this comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *