Ascending and descending toward the farewell: two ceremonial itineraries of Sigurd Lewerentz

Abstract

In the two funerary spaces of Sigurd Lewerentz, the Meditation Mound in the Woodland Cemetery of Stockholm and the sunken Ceremonial Plaza in the Malmö Eastern Cemetery have created particular place to commemorate the deceased. Their volumes and compositions not only enhance the physical sense of the site’s topography, but also psychologically emphasize our relation with the ground, which contribute to the farewell ceremony. The experience in these two places less habitable is produced by the ritual movement of ascending and descending. Just as the course of life contains a speculative time of approaching to its own end, in the two funerary spaces of Lewerentz, the physical journey becomes a psychological tool that allows to generate a ritual for the farewell of life. The walking experience of the visitors has established a metaphoric connection that reflects our own existence.