Rural Funerary Landscape in a Forest Over the Llyn Brainne Reservoir

This project looks at the contrast between life and death. Aiming to aid a funeral attendees mourning process, by allowing spaces that offer both distraction and an intense emotion in order to help the acceptance that comes with grief. Aimed to create a journey of space that allows guests to accept and reflect together and as individuals.

After visiting the site, I found the forest location offered many sensory distractions that could help one cope through their mourning process. However the intensity of distractions meant there was no space for true acceptance. In line with the local parish - Church in Wales - belief in the climax of a funeral, I aimed to create a space that allows attendees to focus on this climax away from all other distraction.

Creating collages and sketches developed from images and information taken and collected at the site I created a concept. Through testing my developing design against this concept, alongside contextual information, site analysis and lighting studies I was able to create an architectural form. This form was then developed through using working (mainly analogue) plans, sections and models in order to design a functioning chapel. Combined with atmospheric imagery I was able to inhabit the functional design, placing it in its situation with material and constructional details.

In reflection I would use CAD for drawing up plans and sections to help aid and speed up the process of making small adjustments to my design. In turn this would then allow more time to create atmospheric imagery to explain the less resolved areas of the proposal.