— Ferreiras Cemetery

The project for the Ferreiras Cemetery is presented with a new transforming concept of the ways of understanding the funeral rites and of carrying out the memorial of loved ones, without ruptures or contradictions, only seeking to establish links between Man and Nature, the Profane and the Divine, the Horizontal and the Vertical, Perennial and the Ephemeral, Tradition and Memory.

Earth and Light is the motto that sets the guidelines for the development of the concept. A large constructed ensemble is conformed as if it were a moldable mass – clay – and composed of spaces with different characteristics, uses, dimensions and visual frames that are unified by a continuous and striking language. Walls on land/taip (so traditional in this Mediterranean culture) guarantee a homogenous image and identity: a solidity and perenniality that recovers the past, updating it, and refers to comfort and tranquility. In counterpoint, Light, ethereal and liberating, expands the limits of space, shows the landscape, frames perspectives, illuminates spaces and provides the sense of meditation and transcendence.

Combining different spaces and technical characteristics, the cemetery is organised along an important central axis which allows for distribution to the various areas of burial, located on different levels adapted to the topography of the terrain. Each of the areas was conceived according to an overall idea but at the same time considering a certain independence and self-sufficiency. In this way, each zone includes, in addition to the burial systems, easy access to water points and rubbish collection bins, the inclusion of benches and covered areas that allow a greater and more comfortable enjoyment of the spaces.