Woodland Cemetery Experience

After winning a 1915 competition, Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz set to work on completing their design for the Woodland Cemetery. Their idea of using the spiritual nature of the existing landscape to amplify the burial sites is what set them apart from the other entries. The cemetery is located next to an existing cemetery just outside of Stockholm. The sensitive placement of the paths and buildings on the site set their design entry apart.

A tree-lined street brings one into the entry forecourt. Large ashlar stone retaining walls hold the earth back revealing a semi-circular forecourt. A recessed fieldstone wall is framed by four columns set into the ashlar wall. Water trickles down the face of this stone wall. This is the first symbolic moment. The water can be seen to represent tears. It also suggests that we are about to enter a sacred space.

As one continues straight, the path opens up into a clearing. The large volume makes one realize how small one is. The clearing starts to reveal and suggest what is to come. A stone path leads to a low wall and uphill to the massive granite cross. In the background one can make out the Monument Hall. Farther in the distance, another step of stone steps lead up to the Meditation Grove. In this space one can begin to see how large the site is and the many qualities and aspects of the various destinations. This space is meant to get one thinking as they begin their journey.

From the clearing, one is drawn to the main pedestrian access of the Way of the Cross. This path will lead to the Cremation Chapels eventually but one is immediately drawn to the cross. The cross itself is abstracted to symbolize a more universal symbol. The height of the cross seems to bridge heaven and earth. The cross acts as a way-finding device for the visitor, standing tall enough to orient oneself. The path is asymmetrically aligned with the entry. The edge of the path is blended into the lawn. The objects are placed throughout asymmetrically allowing it to feel more natural. All throughout the site, the path provides framed views consistently directed skyward, toward the ethereal unknown.

After one has passed the cross, the Cremation Chapels appear on your left. Located at lower slope of the hill, the technical aspects of the crematory are underneath and beyond the chapels.

The Way of the Cross ends when one reaches the Monument Hall. Located next to the largest chapel, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, the Monument Hall provides a transition from the path to the chapels where funerary services are provided. To the right of the Monument Hall, one first encounters an open-air catafalque and then a lily pond. Although these components are close to Monument Hall, they more powerfully provide a backdrop to the Meditation Grove.

The Meditation Grove is set atop a knoll just off the central clearing. Seven flights of granite stairs lead up to the grove. These are the steps that are visible from the entrance. The steps decrease in height and increase in depth as one progresses along the path. The landings become larger as well making the climb easier for the visitor. The climb upward directs one attention to the higher spiritual plane of the heavens. The grove is framed by low deep ashlar walls. Another square is formed outside the walls by weeping elms. The axial orientation aligns one with the four cardinal directions. One's mind is turned to silence and one's eyes move to the heavens. Originally a gravel pit, the landscape here is now smooth. Symbolically, the idea of the hill can be seen as a burial mound or a sacred mountain. Providing this place for reflection and bereavement is especially beneficial to those that have just lost a loved one. On the southern side of the hill, a seven foot wide gravel path leads one toward the forest.

The Way of the Seven Wells was originally planned to be punctuated by seven wells. Only one was ever built. The straight gravel path cuts through the forest, framed by tall spruces and the Chapel of Resurrection at its end. This is the longest path and is broken up by the seven wells. This is symbolic of a pilgrimage path. The number seven is used throughout the project. Symbolical the number seven is reference from the bible. It signifies.... Along the path one begins to notice the tombs. Small, thin slabs punctuate the green lawn. Although it is considered a natural site, it is actually clear of underbrush and instead is a manicured lawn. Minimal paths cut through the forests. To reach a grave, one simply walks across the grass. The tombstones here are oriented facing east toward the rising sun, which many consider the path of renewal. Throughout the cemetery, one is oriented towards the cosmic cycles. It is evident in almost all the spaces.

At the end of the path one has reached the Chapel of Resurrection. As the second chapel built, it was designed in a neoclassical style. The refined materials are a sharp contrast to the natural site one has encountered so far. One enters this chapel from the north, turns east to the altar and then exits to the west underneath the organ loft. The exit process brings one back into the world of the living, filled with light.

Deep within the forest lies the Woodland Chapel. From the Way of the Seven Wells one sees the gateway to the chapel but the chapel remains hidden in the woods. The first to be constructed, it appears to be a traditional Swedish church. The chapel is closely surrounded by the trees. The entry is tall columns that help transition from the dense forest into something man made. An angel of death sits perched at the roof edge. A set of wrought iron doors provide entry into the chapel. Decorated with skulls and snakes, they provide passage to the Kingdom of the Dead. Asplund wanted the design to express the mourner's feelings, he brought them from darkness to light. This chapel has an axial layout with the altar straight ahead. The ceiling is raised up to expose a light filled dome. As one leaves the chapel, a path leads down several steps to another rectangular space. This one is the children's cemetery. If one continues on this path, it leads to a second meditation grove surrounded by miniature willows.

So many symbolic references exist throughout the Woodland Cemetery. Keeping these symbols vague, the mourner is able to interpret their own meaning. Gunnar Ekelof argues this point by saying, " One of the most important things in all art: leave a respectable part up to the reader, the observer, the listener, the participant. There shall be an empty setting at the ready-laid table. It is his." By allowing one to form their own expressions of the space, it becomes unique to each individual. Each visitor creates their own experience and relationship.

Without time to discuss each symbol and expression, it is most important to note the role nature has in the site. By turning the mourner's attention to nature, the cemetery is able to help dissolve grief and be reconciled to it. Nature is not viewed as a threat but a security. The cycle of nature is what it is all about. Nature remains unalterable in an uncertain world.

Author's Note: Designing a crematorium complex in 1915 was very controversial. Many were opposed to this new method. People form very specific views on death and what is acceptable. I believe the idea of assisted-suicide is similar to the original challenge they faced in designing the Woodland Cemetery. The careful treatment of the crematorium in the natural landscape was crucial to their success. Hopefully, my relationship of an assisted-suicide facility can form the same connection with nature.