Järva Cemetery / NRJA

Our friends from NRJA (be sure to view previous NRJA projects on AD, especially their 2009 Building of the Year House) shared their finished competition entry for a cemetery in Järva Common, Stockholm with us. Designing a cemetery is a difficult challenge as it is a place filled with symbolic importance and infused with a commitment to offering hope. The architects decided that this new cemetery will provide a place where the identity of the site is defined not only by the environmental quality of the space and its historical importance, but also by the project’s emphasize on concentration on the memory of the deceased.

More images and more about the project after the break.

Site Plan © NRJA

“The cemetery will become a park of reflection, a meditation place, with a statement that the end of life is only the beginning of another road,” explained the architects. Arranged along an axis, the meditation road marks the beginning of the cemetery road and ends at a light obelisk on top of Granholmstoppen hill.

Hjulsta Pavilion © NRJA

To preserve the memory and to promote awareness of archeological monuments, such as the Viking burial places, new memorial and meditation spots are planned along pedestrian pathways. A new chapel for 50 – 500 visitors is planned along the meditation road with covered terrace and several halls for commemoration of the deceased.

Section © NRJA

The project proposes several types and possibilities for burial. The regular division of flat burial graves (lawn graves) provides the opportunity for simple management, navigation and maintenance. This solution is appropriate, bearing in mind the diversity of beliefs in Sweden, further clarifying the possible design of grave location and orientation. Parts of graves are planned on Granholmstoppen hill. Burial wall/ niches around the whole area also serve as a boundary to isolate the area from the highway noise. There are several areas planned for vertical, free-standing burial niches, and ash discharge sites with places for meditation.