CEMETERY ANKARAN
The place of remembrance at the transition between the verticals of the forest and the limitlessness of the horizon
Cemeteries are sites containing the quiet presence of memories and the constancy of cultural rituals; this combination poignantly defines a sense of bodily transference through atmospheric quietude. The Ankaran Cemetery embodies these qualities—their significance and their constancy—furthermore, the architecture of the cemetery is conceived as a liminal transition space between the verticalness of the adjacent forest and the limitlessness of the Adriatic horizon to the southwest. The space of the cemetery is defined by these contrasting relationships and transitions between open and closed, light and dark – between the here and the hereafter.
The cemetery is exceptionally located on the ridge above the central part of Ankaran and above the modernist church of St. Nikolaj along the Oljčna pot (Olive Path), which offers views of the Bay of Trieste and Slovenian Istria. It is precisely because of its exceptional location that the land was originally planned for commercial programs, but after protests by the local community it was re-purposed as a cemetery. Ankaran did not have a suitable place to say goodbye its deceased, therefore, both functionally and symbolically, the new cemetery defines one of the main public spaces for the community.
The forest cemetery shows its dual nature by design. On the one hand, it functions as a freely passable forest-park intended for walks and contemplation, and on the other, as a series of marked burial fields—smaller cemeteries—which are aligned in terraces on the slope above the farewell building. The relief is geometrized into five terraces, which, due to their connection to the existing terrain, spread out like a fan. The farewell building is located on the first terrace and is accessible by a low ramp. Walled burial fields are located on the next three terraces, the highest of which serves as a space for scattering ashes. Smaller, more intimate ambient spaces are connected by a serpentine ritual path embedded in a network of forest paths connecting to the center of Ankaran. The path is where the process of saying goodbye, mourning, remembering and reflecting, as well as socializing and meeting can occur. The well-conceived dramaturgy of architectural and landscape elements lined up along the path directs the visitor’s gaze alternately along the terrain into the vertical forest and perpendicularly to the terrain towards the sea, into this unfathomable dimension that merges with the sky.
The farewell building is close to the forest’s edge and set aside from the building mass of the church, which enables unobstructed views of the horizon. The building has three parts: an entrance platform with a bench as an entrance space open to the horizon, a farewell chapel as an introverted mourning space illuminated by zenithal light and a covered farewell area, separated from the chapel with a green atrium which focuses into the depths of the forest via a water mirror. The longitudinal composition of the building relates to the structure of the cemetery walls and consists of long walls parallel to the terrain covered by a floating flat roof. Set in the rear of the structure is an introverted volume with service facilities (storage, toilets, kitchenette). The location and transitory nature of the farewell building mark the beginning of the ritual path and the transition from the public space to the space of memory.
The design of the burial fields is derived from the interpretation of traditional walled cemeteries found near Ankaran, Lovran, Bertoki and Stari Milje. The burial fields are surrounded by a low wall, which is interrupted by a higher urn wall at the entrance. Each burial field offers urn niches in the urn wall as well as an area for terrestrial graves (both coffin and urn). The tombstones are set in place in such a way that they face the entrance and have views towards the horizon in the background. The last burial field is surrounded by a clipped hedge which is intended for ash scattering and therefore consists of two levels. The upper level is bounded by a thin line of retaining walls that are both functional and symbolic and from which the undertaker scatters the ashes into seemingly infinity. The cemetery contains 110 ground coffin graves, 246 ground urn graves, 180 urn niches and an area for ash scattering with 272 places for epitaphs.
All architectural elements materially derive from the colors and textures of the location. Amidst the massive washed concrete walls in the earthy color of the flysch layers, the polished concrete urn walls stand out, while the bright connecting path floats above the terrain. Individual accents and functional elements are made of local karst limestone, wood and metal.
The Ankaran Cemetery, with its contemporary approach to the cemetery as part of a free passable forest park accessible to all, transforms the traditional idea of the cemetery space as a place of the remembrance into a metaphor for community.
