Minimalist Spatial Sculpture

OFIS Arhitekti - Krasnja cemetery chapel - Krasnja

Robert Uhde published 3 months 1 week ago26 comments

At night, the new building turns into an impressive body of light. © Andrej Gregoric
The inside of the morturary chapel with its cross-shaped skylight. © Andrej Gregoric
Collage of concrete, glass, wood and light, providing plenty of contrast. © Andrej Gregoric
The shape of the new building is a convincing response to the cemetery's location. © Andrej Gregoric
At night, the light from inside shines through the skylight. © Andrej Gregoric

By designing the cemetery chapel in Krasnja in Slovenia, OFIS Arhitekti have created a powerful meditative place of wood and fair-faced concrete.

Placed into the Hillside

Young Slovenian architecture has received quite some attention during the past few years. OFIS Arhitekti from Lujubljana are among the country’s most interesting architectural firms. In 2009, the planners gathered around Rok Oman and Spela Videcnik have completed a Catholic cemetery chapel at the border of the small town of Krasnja. The village is about 20 kilometers north-east of the capital Ljubljana, in the Upper Kranian mountains. Based on the location’s aslope topography, the architects have realized a minimalist structure consisting of polished fair-faced concrete, digging into the hillside, its curved layout, its flat grass roof and the curve-shaped supporting walls precisely tracing the contour lines.

Onion-shaped Layout

Summed up, the three crooked concrete walls form an onion-shaped interlaced layout: The rear supporting wall separates the cemetery chapel from the mountain, its extension encasing a little metaled forecourt. Together with a wall placed in front it creates a tubular room with restrooms, small kitchen, storage rooms and checkroom. The next “layer” is a maze-like mortuary chapel at the facility’s center with its curved wall made of larch wood. The large glass front towards the south-west lets in plenty of daylight and allows for a generous view across the valley. A curved glass façade, projecting far beyond the building as well as a walkable ramp leading along the outer supporting wall and the mountain, round off the building.

A Place of Contemplation

A core element of the design is the large skylight shaped like a cross the architects have cut into the mortuary chapel’s ceiling. The window does not only provide additional daylight, but also creates a meaningful symbol of the connection between the above and the below, heaven and earth, a hint which is already provided through the cross shape. A special effect is achieved when it’s dark, since the light shining through from the inside creates an impressive meditative atmosphere. An architectural image full of calmness and spiritual power, convincing also independent from its Christian context.

tags:

Sacred building