Studio Associato Bernardo Secchi Paola Viganò

Architecture | Urbanism | Landscape

city of Kortrijk

studio

The new cemetery site is on sloping terrain in the southern area of the city. Beyond the crest that marks the natural limits of the city and along which the road runs, the view onto the countryside opens out: the gentle terrain soars and slopes in broad still 'waves' up to reaching the following crest. This undulating Flemish landscape is crossed by a furrow that drives one's gaze towards the bottom of the valley: a route made out of broad flat regular surfaces partially cut into the terrain.
The cemetery is totally embedded in the landscape, and is situated at the end of a public thoroughfare that crosses the town of Kortrijk from north to south. A long furrow, separates it off from the land art park. At the entrance a thick wall marks where the cemetery begins. The earth shifting was reduced to a minimum and used to clarify the way the cemetery is laid out: a broad ramp, configured as a sloping square marks the entrance. On one side lies a chamber of ceremonies with related facilities. The structures are covered by surface in corten that just peeks up above the terrain, revealing a face of glass panels and a metal grill that opens out onto the valley. A slit separates the chamber of ceremonies from the terrain. It allows the light to filter through and at night becomes a luminous line traced on the ground. Another luminous line along the walls beside the entrance reveals the depth of the square.