BRION-VEGA CEMETERY EXPERIENCE

The Brion-Vega cemetery is located outside of San Vito d'Altivole, Italy. Designed by Carlo Scarpa in 1969, it is an enclosed necropolis for the Brion family. The tombs, chapels, gardens and pathways were carefully designed and detailed by Scarpa. Scarpa said the project was "The place for the dead in a garden. I wanted to show some ways in which you could approach death in a social and civic way; and further what meaning there was in death, in the ephemerality of life." The experience is broken up by using a segmented path. Symbolic themes of life and death bring each segment together to form a cohesive whole. The family tomb surrounds an existing village cemetery. It is enclosed on all sides by a wall and separated from its surroundings. It abandons the grid. A mysterious and symbolic journey is created; departing from the familiar and journeying to the unknown. Scarpa uses form, texture, space and sequence to create the symbolic nature of the path. The main entrance is located inside the village cemetery. The entry, called the propylaeum, is located adjacent to the mausoleums. Instead of the next family name, one finds an opening as wide as the adjacent mausoleums but taller. Light is visible at its far end. The concrete form steps back to reveal an upper skylight. The brick path begins in the village cemetery and compels one forward into the space. Here the bricks change color, indicating a threshold. The entry space is vertically oriented. A set of steps immediately draw attention. Three large scaled steps span from wall to wall with three smaller steps asymmetrically placed in the path. The steps are made of concrete and steel and provide a cadence to ones footsteps on the path. The directional series of volumes here are individual inscribed by variations of patterns and materials on the walls, floors and ceiling. At the end of the entry are two intertwined circles. Backlit by the gardens beyond, the red and blue forms appear dark. This is the first introduction of the symbolic use of circles. It is said these circles represent life and death, together and apart, male and female. Scarpa studied Buddhism and believed in non-duality. "Light and shade, long and short...are different and are to be discriminated; but they are not independent of each other; they are only aspects of the same thing, they are terms of relation, not of reality. Conditions of existence are not of a mutually exclusive character; in essence things are not two but one," Scarpa said about the non-dualities. As one reaches the circles, the second threshold is formed by the roof opening above. The first choice is here. Turning right leads you to the meditation platform. One of four destinations in the cemetery, it is one of two places of repose. The path narrows as one begins their journey to the platform. A glass door opens by recessing into the concrete floor. Even when fully recessed, it still must be stepped over, acting as a third threshold marker. When fully closed, the closure joins together to form a rough crucifix. When open, the closure is a fragmented pattern. After passing this threshold, the path now appears to float on a pool of water. Turning left, one enters the meditation platform. To enter the meditation platform, one must duck under the enclosure, similar to a Japanese teahouse. The view here is limited to the immediate environment. It focuses on the water and the surrounding walls. When one sits down, the vista is surrounded by walls on all sides. The second symbolic material is introduced here. Water is a symbol of the unconscious and the unknown, it implies both death and rebirth. The platform seems to straddle two worlds, floating on the water. Just under the surface of the water are four cylinders. Another symbol of a quaternity form, appears to float just above the water. Plants grow above and below the surface of the water. All of these elements work together symbolizing transcendence and the parallel realities of our world. If one was to turn left at the first choice, the volume instead opens up. The walls here dissolve into the space beyond. The edges of the wall are marked in yellow tiles. The walls here are painted white to further brighten this point of transition. The path transitions from concrete to grass. A water channel feeding the meditation pond runs parallel to the edge of the path here. The source of the water appears to be a spring located at ones next destination. Just before entering the Brion couples tomb, two cylinders rest at the top. The first is the source of the water feeding the meditation pool. Next to it is a dry cylinder. The juxtaposition of these two opposites symbolize the husk of the body and the life of the spirit. The dry channel leads one to the darkness of the couple's tomb. The tomb itself is set into the ground. The tomb here is rotated 45 degrees from the path. A massive, shallow arch partially covers the recessed opening. The underside of the arch is tiled to appear even darker and more mysterious. The two sarcophagi are leaning toward each other, suggesting tension or repose, richness and simplicity or even a last kiss. The floor here is tiled to show the sarcophagi as yet another threshold. As one leaves the tomb, the path leads one across the grass. Staggered concrete steps bring you to the next choice in your path. To the right lies the Brion family tomb. Straight ahead leads one to the chapel. the family tomb is the third destination and has many similar characteristics to the spaces already visited. It is also set in the ground. One has to duck to enter this space, similar to the meditation platform. The path to this tomb is narrow with a tight turn to gain entry. Inside the tomb, the surfaces are painted black to further emphasize the feeling of enclosure. The constricted space puts one uncomfortably close to the grave markers. An opening above offers the only relief. As one travels straight to the chapel, the path here is more open and provides experiences along the way. The long linear path is first open on one side and then closes. A perforated wall forms the enclosure on the right. The perforations allow slices of light to enter the space. Two steps up mark the threshold to the chapel. The path terminates as one reaches a large door with a smaller door set inside it. The wall on the left opens up here revealing the second means of entry, a secondary path used for village funeral services. The chapel is rotated 45 degrees off of the alignment of the path. A triangular ante room is created that leads one into the main volume of the chapel. Geometry in the chapel provides focus. A square in the ceiling is raised up providing space for a skylight. At certain hours, the light falls directly on the altar. At the equinoxes, light enters the skylight and streams through the doors to light the water beyond. The paving patterns and floor inlays further emphasize the diagonal orientation of the chapel. A pool of water marks this as the second place of repose. Surrounded on three sides by water, it also appears to float from certain views. A second door leads one out to the Priests' Cemetery. This path is concrete slabs that appear both above and below the surface of the water. The idea of straddling two worlds is further emphasized as one takes each step along this segment of the path. As one exits the cemetery this way, one has come full circle. Instead of following the path in back out, a second entrance transitions one back into the world. It suggests the unity of one's existence. The symbolic story of this experience is unique to each visitor. Each symbol is open to interpretation. The transcendent nature of the space provides individual insight to each visitor. It is once again a journey from the profane outer world to the more sacred spaces. Symbols from many religions and sources are used. Quaternity forms and circles emphasize each of the three destinations. The tiles are primary colors suggesting a fundamental source. Basic ideas of symbolism are used allowing one to form their own interpretation. It is these basic ideas of symbolism that make this space so special for so many.