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Competition/ Park cemetery/ Tienen/ Nov 2015/ B

2015

Funerary heritage

Flanders has a particularly funerary heritage. This heritage must be preserved, protected and enhanced. The Flemish grave culture dates back to the Romans. We are berried in an earth field and a monument is placed on the grave. So Flanders developed its own popular culture of cemeteries of which the core of the portfolio consists of individual tombs.

The atmosphere of coldness in the cemetery of Tienen is easily transformed by adding a park layer. The park layer is a expression of togetherness and individuality. It forges individual tombs together in a park. The cemetery is now just a walled grave field with only three entrances. By making additional entrances in the wall, the cemetery will become part of the town Tienen. Tienen must not be Schoonselhof (Antwerp), Camposanto (Gent) or Elsene (Brussels). It should become park cemetery Tienen. A place to come together, to mourn, to remember the dead, or just walking around. Park cemetery Tienen gets its own unique identity.

Grief

The grieving process has certain phases. Everyone goes through the process slowly or quickly. But there are clearly recognizable moments. Those moments are underlined by the changing image of the cemetery. The grieving process has five phases of denial / anger / bargaining / depression and acceptance. They are different phases that follow each other quickly or slowly. The association with the passage of the seasons is easily made. Every season has its unique color and its own emotion. The weather and the image of plants and trees are essential therein. For each phase we design their own abstract image that evokes emotion and we translate it into trees and plants.