Igualada Cemetery

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View from the site entrance looking towards the 'street' that descends to the burial area.

Igualada Cemetery, Igualada, Barcelona (province), Spain, was designed by the architects Enric Miralles and Carme Pinós after they won an architectural competition in 1984. Constructed between 1985 and 1994, the cemetery became widely regarded as one of the most poetic works of twentieth century Catalan architecture. Enric Miralles, who died in the year 2000 is buried in one of the tombs. ^[1]

1 Architectural concept
2 See Also
3 Notes
4 References

[edit] Architectural concept

Zabalbeascoa sees Miralles's work in general and the cemetery in particular as being architecture "which 'naturally' adapts itself to a given site" but cannot be termed simply Organic architecture. His work is "more than simply interpreting the programme [brief] or observing a site's geographical landscape, however attentively, his architecture explores pre-existing traces in the cultural landscape of each project. His work can thus be considered as architecture of the land that involves a humanisation of the programme and appreciation of the topography - that is, the visible, physical land as well as the memories contained within it. This is seen by Zabalbeascoa in contrast to the particular form of Critical regionalism which prevailed in the Spanish architectural scene of the 1970's which had tended towards a sentimental or scenographic type of architecture.^[2]

The project is conceived, in part, as an earthwork that transforms the surrounding landscape and also in part as a metaphor for the river of life. A processional "street" descends from the entrance, where crossed, rusting, steel poles doubling as gates, proclaim the start of a winding pathway towards the burial area. The route is lined with repeatable concrete loculi forming retaining walls and the floor of the path has railway sleepers set into it's concrete surface.^[1]

Coordinates: 41°35′31″N, 1°38′14″E

[edit] See Also

[edit] Notes

^ ^a ^b Strum p.13.2
^ Zabalbeascoa p.9

[edit] References

Suzanne, Strum [April 2002]. Barcelona: a Guide to Recent Architecture (Paperback) (in English), Ellipsis (B.T. Batsford Ltd), 320 pages. ISBN 1841660051.
Zabalbeascoa, Anatxu [July 1996]. Igualada Cemetery: Barcelona, 1986-90 - Enric Miralles and Carme Pinos (Architecture in Detail S.) (Paperback) (in English), Phaidon Press, 60 pages. ISBN 0714832812.