Ceremony Pavillion Natural Burial Ground
6 augustus 2018
At present the landscape of the natural burial forest offers a series of outdoor, uncovered ceremonial areas. In the Dutch climate, the absence of a covered ceremonial space limits the days that on-site ceremonies can take place, and therefore the attractiveness of the burial grounds as a total.
The natural burial forest services people from multiple religious beliefs as well as agnostics and atheists. A ceremonial pavilion should therefore be able to accommodate a wide range of wishes. The Client requested a pavilion that can host other activities, in order to attract more revenues, and to improve connections with nearby communities.
Blueroom created a neutral but sacred architecture for a multifunctional pavilion: A space that provides shelter from rain, snow and strong direct sunlight, but invites filtered daylight and moonlight, breezes of wind and sounds of the wildlife, capturing the changing seasons.
The circular pavilion allows for both formal and informal seating arrangements, or no seating at all. A second tier allows for extra visitors in case of larger groups attending ceremonies. This tier also functions as an art gallery with changing themed exhibitions. When there is no ceremony, the main space acts as a silence center, a remembrance space, and can host Yoga sessions and debating clubs in evenings. Spaces such as family room, wardrobe and toilets are integrated into the earthen walls.
The space is complemented with a vertically developing Berceau, a structure of wood beams sourced in the forest itself, overgrown with indigenous vegetation, that recalls the verticality present in sacred architecture worldwide.
The site has a 50-year zoning permit. Any structure erected on site in those 50 years, must be either removed or completely reintegrate into the natural biotope. The Client has the mission not to disturb nature in any way, and to transform the former production forest into a differentiated biotope with indigenous types of vegetation and wildlife towards the pre-cultivation biotope it once was.
The pavilion is partly dug into site, with rammed earth walls made of the resulting on-site soil. The sacral Berceau of alive indigenous vegetation will continue to grow during its lifetime. The temperature in the covered, but effectively outdoor space, will be moderated by the thermal mass of the rammed earth walls and the earth it is dug into. When needed, additional heating and cooling is provided by local sustainable power.
During its lifetime, the building will need a minimum of maintenance, and when the concession of the burial ground ends, the building can be simply left on site, to biodegrade, and reintegrate into and enforce its biotope.