Public Catholic Cemetery Redevelopment
The project is a redevelopment of the old Catholic public cemetery, located on the outskirts of Seoul. Since public cemeteries are mostly considered as a negative contribution to the public realm and the property value in the city center is too high to have space for the deceased, in the case of Korea they have always been located in suburban areas of metropolitan regions. For this reason, rather than properly commemorating the memory of beloved people, many public cemeteries tend to be abandoned spaces and deserted unpleasurable public domains.
The fundamental idea arose from the question of how unattractive public cemeteries can be transformed to be commemorative places filled with private meditation and reminiscence. When people have to face the agony of death, nature can be appreciated through ritual events. Landscape design can influence peoples’ movement and emotion through a transformation of the way they experience certain spaces.
Sky Well is the culmination of an explosive emotional moment meeting the climax of the ritual movement. The project consists of a charnel house, crematorium, different types of crypts and chapels in one of the hills facing the Han River confluence. The landscape features have dramatic aesthetic features, enhancing how people discover different perspectives throughout their unique journey within the cemetery. The architecture of the buildings is incorporated to flow with the existing landscape to allow people to reflect on their memories of their beloved ones. The moment one faces the eternal farewell is orchestrated through appreciation of both nature and human experience.