The Rebirth of the Luz Cemetery

Credit: archdaily.com

How do you go about updating and displacing an entire cemetery? Architects Pedro Pacheco and Marie Clément completed the task in four years (1998-2002) with their revitalizing design for the Luz Cemetery in Portugal. Their efforts have brought a bright, minimalist approach to the traditional cemetery: white marble is the dominant material, punctuated only by the green of cypress trees against the sky.

Credit: archdaily.com

The project required not only the careful transportation of the tombs, but a respect for the “memor[ies] and rituals” associated with them. “The old cemetery’s regular and geometric figure, which follow the ground pendent is reproduced [in the design],” explains architecture website Arch Daily, “[and] the vicinities between tombs are maintained as place recognition elements, as well as their orientation, in order to return light and shadow conditions, associated to visit rituals. The 24 tomb types identified [were also] maintained.”

Pacheco and Clément wanted to make the cemetery visitors feel welcome and comfortable in the space, but they also wanted to create the impression that they were entering a special landscape – experiencing a completely new, “submerged topography.” The marble tile on the lowered ground was meant to feel like an encompassing “carpet” of sorts, sheltered by the “long white walls” leading to the “contemplation place” in the western area of the cemetery.

Credit: archdaily.com

“This place is a result of various orientation and access site priorities,” says the site, “[there] is an antechamber which [is one of the two] cemetery entrance[s]: it is marked by the old recycled portal, and the [other on the interior] is marked by a white marble step.”

There’s something very soothing and sophisticated about the designers’ choice to use white marble so prominently. We’re used to the kind of inherent somberness of a traditional cemetery (the gray-on-gray color scheme, the moss-ridden headstones, etc.).

Credit: archdaily.com

And why not marry cemeteries with contemporary design? Why not bring in elements that feel fresh and vibrant? A cemetery is, after all, a place where we go to remember our loved ones and celebrate their life. Pacheco and Clément’s vision finds a delicate balance between a respect for tradition and a desire to change the way we look at death and dying.

Check out more of SevenPonds’ Soulful Expressions here.