Located in Venice, the Brion Cemetery is the culmination of Carlo Scarpa's design concepts and his most revered work. At Brion Cemetery, he uses the "double ring" to connect the end of a couple's life, and uses love instead of death to pass on to the hearts of visitors. "At Brion Cemetery, you will feel real vitality."
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About Carlo Scarpa
Carlo Alberto Scarpa
Carlo Scarpa
Carlo Alberto Scarpa (1906-1978), an architect and glasswork and furniture designer in Venice, Italy, devoted his life to small-scale projects such as the restoration or expansion of historic buildings, working in various Italian cities and other countries, and was known as a master of the use of light, a master of detail, and a connoisseur of materials.
Carlo Scarpa spent most of his life in Venice, deeply influenced by its historical traditions, geographical features and humanistic feelings, and imperceptibly reflected his understanding of Venice's rich and varied water spaces, exquisite traditional craftsmanship, traditional materials and the historical hierarchy of urban architecture.
Carlo Scarpa (first from left) & Louis Kang (second from left)
Louis Kang commented on his work: "Beauty, is the first feeling, art, is the first comment, and then marvel at the connotation of "form", the elements are integrated, the design is endowed with the temperament of each element from nature, a work of art is the overall expression of the form, is the harmony of the elements, in these elements, the nodes give inspiration to the decoration, and the details pour out the admiration for the essence. ”
"Straight lines symbolize infinity, and curves limit creation.
And color can make people cry. ”
——
About brion cemetery
Brion Family Cemetery
(1968-1978)
01
origin
Brion is the founder and owner of Brionvega. The company, which produced radio and television sets in the 1960s and 1970s, is world-famous and even has a glorious place at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This is not a simple cemetery, but an extremely clear way to start.
Construction of the Brion Cemetery began in 1969, but Scapa died in 1978 after an accidental fall in Sendai, Japan. The cemetery has since been completed by Studio Porcinai and the architects Carlo Maschietto and Guido Pietropoli.
Scarpa devoted so much effort to the construction of this work that he made his design experience a research topic for his students in the 1975-1976 school year. Perhaps it's because he loves the view of Veneto and has been admiring it in his Asolo residence; or maybe it's because the work is becoming a life experience for him; or because he's first fully commissioned by his clients. At the time, Scapa was fascinated by the Veneto's hidden place and chose it as his and his wife's grave.
The cemetery of Carlo Scarpa
The Brion Cemetery is located in a small cemetery in Altibole San Vito, in the province of Treviso, Italy. Initially, the Brions' cemetery was only 68 square meters, but in 1969 the site for the cemetery memorial was increased to 2,400 square meters. This was so large for a family cemetery that at first the range bothered Scarpa. In his lecture in Madrid, he admitted that he had wanted to make the cemetery simpler, by planting 1,000 cypress trees to solve the problem.
"A big natural park, a natural scene," he explains, "will bring better results in the future than my building." Obviously, that wouldn't be, and that L-shaped land is now a pilgrimage place for people who admire Scapa and its architecture.
Throughout the design of the cemetery, Scarpa avoided the traditional design of the central axis symmetry in the cemetery, the layout is "L"-shaped, surrounded by concrete walls and narrow corridors, the center of which is a green space, and the center of the green space is the arched burial chamber of the Brions, consisting of an overhead curved awning, an arc arch of structural force, a sunken circular depression and a coffin facing each other in parallel.
02
entrance
The monumental complex consists of five buildings and is separated from the exterior by a boundary wall that slopes 60° to the horizon. Scarpa conceived of two populations connected to the road, but as he himself wrote in his account, the main road was the one that crossed from the old cemetery.
The main intersection crossed from the public cemetery
Another hidden entrance
On this connected double ring, which has become a symbol of Scapa's design, giuseppe Brion in blue on the right and Onorina Tomasin in pink on the left. The front and back of each ring have these two colors, so that when viewed from inside and outside the mountain gate, they are the same style: the tone of the man is always on the right, and the tone of the woman is always on the left.
Many people wonder what is the symbolic meaning behind such a rich image element. A simple, clear line expresses a profound meaning, because a third sharp shape is formed in the middle of these two rings. This is a reference to the "sacred mandorla" in Christian iconography that usually surrounds the image of Christ.
The narrow waterway cuts into the ground like a crop circle, allowing the various parts to communicate.
If you look closely, the mountain gate sits at the end of the tombs, which is a promise of eternity, carefully prepared for those who come to visit the cemetery. The concrete road has an asymmetrical façade with regular setbacks on the sides. The roof of the mountain gate was broken in many places to allow beams of light and water to pass through. During summer storms, they play fantastic music for this architectural piece.
03
Meditation pavilion
The small meditation pavilion standing on the surface of the water looks like a beautiful architectural interlude from a distance. It floats on a concrete island, level with the water. This structure of iron and wood is more "practical" than the entire complex, creating an unexpected contrast.
But to enter the tranquility of meditation from this magical place, you need to go through a narrow path and enter the absolutely personal world. To get here, you need to return along the road of the mountain gate and turn right in front of the double ring. The passage here becomes very narrow, allowing only one person to pass.
On this quiet path, the sound of footsteps from the hollow underground reinforces the significance of this act. To get here, you have to walk through a sliding door. This metal and glass partition, when pushed down, will be submerged in the water beneath the floor. Under the action of the Scapa designed automatic device, it will be wet and dripping water when it rises again. This machine is incomprehensible from the interior, but it is clear on the outer wall.
In addition to the pine in the cemetery, there are also rounded water lilies in the pond. These designs and plants evoke the architecture, art and Zen atmosphere of Japan.
The "dark branch" of this corridor is the only way to reach the water pavilion, while it is not accessible from the garden. The interior of this small building is closed at the height of the horizon. To enjoy the scenery of Mount Asolo and admire the small niches, you have to stop and sit back.
In the center of the canopy, a heart-shaped notch. Scarpa's double rings, which are only slightly cut off from below here, allow one to gaze at the cemetery, to sit here in silence, to soak every part of this poetic, extraordinary "machine" that has been carefully designed for mourning.