Forest Cemetery, Landsberg
Landsberg
2006–2013
2.435 sqm
Completed
City of Landsberg
Farewell, benediction hall, administration, building yard, outdoor facilities
Waldfriedhof: in harmony with a dignified farewell
Sadly, many cemetery buildings from the 1960s radiate an emotionless, practical atmosphere, where only the grim processes of death in focus. It was the same in Landsberg. Here the mourners had to experience how the deceased were brought directly past them across the corridor into the cold storage rooms!
Kehrbaum Architects completely revised this outdated concept to enable mourners of all denominations to say their farewells in a very personal way. The decision was made to demolish parts of the building, to retain the benediction hall and the administration building, but to completely redesign everything, especially the farewell area.
Our film about the forest cemetery project
The functional processes no longer overlap with the paths of the mourners.
The viewing room is protected from other visitors by room dividers.
The area in front of the benediction hall has also been redefined and is now accessible via an arcade, which also connects the farewell rooms and the administration under covered passage. The farewell area, which is the heart of the building, was intensively discussed and coordinated with representatives of all denominations and religious communities. Here, oak wood in particular reflects the theme of enduring value in the furniture, wall coverings and the cross.
For the construction of the building, Kehrbaum Architekten decided on the long forgotten material of tamped concrete. By using the coarsest gravel fill, the colouring in stone grey and the material layering, a building was created that harmoniously merges with the surrounding forest. The benediction hall was opened to the south over a wide glass strip on the ground floor for a view into the newly designed Garden of Hope.
In addition, the interior was cleared of all accessories. Only a statue of a saint, the symbolic cross and a cubic music gallery characterize the room. By concentrating on the essentials, the focus is now on the deceased, the speakers and the mourners as they spend their last moments together.
»Light and the inclusion
of nature highlight the
meditative approach.«
