Places That Silence

Washington, USA; Stockholm, Sweden

Chapter Author - Rebecca Krinke

Architect - Gunnar Asplud & Sigurd Lewerentz; Richard Haag

The site for the Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm began as an old gravel pit. The existing land use of the site challenged designers both conceptually and physically; how can one turn an industrial wasteland into something sacred? The site has a high point in the landscape where the central clearing is visible “above the site’s periphery, creating a physical void where key elements of the cemetery emerge.”1 Architects Gunnar Asplud and Sigurd Lewerentz designed a wall that separates the sacred cemetery from the profane forest. Within the forest clearing, the individual is brought to a pause to observe the sky above. The cemetery provides an example of “the archetypal power of the forest and clearing for contemplative” and numinous space.

Upon approaching the entrance of the Woodland Cemetery, the user finds themselves walking along a cool-toned stonecoursed wall preventing them from knowing what happens within. While continuing down the path of pleached trees, a sudden opening within the wall appears. The stone wall folds into a half-circle, with its midpoint leading to the entrance of the cemetery clearing. As the individual gently ascends through the entry, their movement and eyes are directed only forward. A temple facade tucks itself into the left wall. Its architecture both compliments and contrasts the surrounding material, but ultimately is desolate to the remaining cemetery. The temple frames another stone face not composed of the same coursing as the first wall. This stone resembles a cyclopean bond; a stone coursing that is constructed with vertical rock joints to produce a sense of the sublime. These rock joineries are reminiscent of the construction methods that were once used in the sacred city of Macchu Picchu; the workers would carve the stones to niche into place with one another. This enabled the buildings not to be glued together by mortar and therefore dance in place during an earthquake. Water flows down the face of the rock, creating a miniature ecosystem with flora, and affecting the coloration of the rock face. Framing these are columns of Nordic classicism.

The reflection garden at Blodel Reserve is framed as a room within the forest, with a window to the sky. The room of the reflection silences the individual and brings one in tune with their senses. It is comprised of ground, water, plants, and sky; each in its elemental form. The site of the reserve lies within a primordial forest, located on Bainbridge Island, Washington, US. Although it is a contemporary garden, it was inspired by Japanese lineage and traditions surrounding meditation, connection with nature, and inner reflection. The space is entirely contained within the hedged precinct that is defined by the water. A horizontal view of the borrowed scenery that surrounds the garden. The concept behind borrowed scenery

Medium: Vellum, led pencil, Tombow ABT Watercolor Pen is not only for the framed vignette but to produce a comparison between the miniature and the small, and the small brought near. Yew hedging is planted around the perimeter of the pool to not only built the room but as well to clip out the view of the messy forest floor covered in dead branches. The corners of the hedging don’t touch, and this is where the user enters and exits the garden. The hedging acts similarly to the concentric fencing at the Ise Shrine in Japan; creating different boundaries that one can and cannot pass through. In addition to providing a window towards the sky, the water within the pool resembles a stillness in nature. This is then later juxtaposed with the bird sanctuary; a social and louder communion with nature.

Many of Richard Haag’s gardens within The Bloedel Reserve were inspired by the narratives of numinous and sacred spaces. While within Bloedel Reserve, the user is meant to transition their movement between gardens of meditation and meander through pathways into the deep forest. A sense of destination, changing places, and hidden and revealed approaches throughout the journey in conscience within an individual. The rhythm of the forest suggests a slow-medium speed of movement, and the trees stand tall and proud like people. A sense of destination is accomplished when the user crossed the threshold; a level change into the reflection room produces feelings of ascension, while the changing lights and shadows equally demonstrate a passing through spaces. Haag capitalizes on the relationship between man and nature. In his lectures, Haag would never share a real aerial view with his students of the reflection pool itself. This was because the juxtaposition of geometry and nature intertwined with phenomenological water qualities produced a perception of the space that is unique to every user. The pool juxtaposes nature through its manicured straight lines, and the simplistic design presents a more meditative space; even the benches were changed to remove distractions. Using geometry as a counterpoint in the reflection room personifies the reflection garden with its complement and contrast of nature, unique to the multiple gardens at the Blodedel reserve.

1. Rebecca Krinke, “Nature, Healing, and the Numinous”