The program for this project, although necessitated by the need for ‘housing the deceased for a day or three. It is primarily dictated by the Christian attitudes towards the rite of death and hence life. The spaces, thus provided, were generated precisely for these attitudes:
- contemplating the existence of life on earth
- contemplating the eternal life of the deceased
- contemplating and anticipating one’s own eternal life
The program did not specify quantities, a most appropriate dictate, rather it requested that the architecture address itself to the ritual of death and hence to the celebration of life. For it is in the veneration of death that life is given its true meaning. The design concept evolved from this attitude through light and water, the two elements that signify eternal life; and by opposites that exist because of the other: light and darkness, growth and decay, mishaps and delights, containment and freedom, sorrow, and happiness, mourning and celebration.
In the visitation spaces, light is concentrated over the niche where the casket is located.
Water, that primordial element, either believed through creation or baptism or through nature appears in the interior and exterior, always flowing, its source being neither inside nor outside.
A semicircular opening, a glance toward the beyond, welcomes relatives and friends to enter the deceased final earthly home. Here begins their dignified manifestation of respect which transforms into a procession culminating in the metaphysical transition inherent the courtyard. The semicircular space, recalling the from opening of the front elevation, is seen as a space which brings together life and death one final time: it is
the departure point for the final journey.
The terrace, the arcade and the pergola become the resting places for the living to partake of their farewells motionlessly and silently.
When one is young, death is seen as a mere fragment in the cycle of life. For some of us, however, the spectre of death appeared early, etching an indelible impression, which remains dormant within the psyche. It is because of this condition that I accepted the challenge to design a funeral home. Although it was not built, the lessons learned during the design process highlighted the fragility and finality human existence. This bit of knowledge accentuated my personal journey through life.
Twenty years later, with a few more scars etched within, I designed another funeral home which was built. It incorporated an exiting heritage house giving the project evidence of time: past, present and death to come.
Years later, while doing research on the Vatican Museums, I came across a drawing of the Sistine Chapel prior to its ceiling being turned into the canvas for the Old Testament. It recalled the memorial chapel of the built funeral home and I immersed myself in the history prior to, during and post Michelangelo.
