FUNERAL CHAPEL INGELHEIM
The new cemetery
Each community of the City of Ingelheim has its own small cemetery. Prospective there is a significant extension necessary. The intended new main cemetery of Ingelheim will be at the city quarter Frei-Weinheim near the river Rhine. A redesign of the new cemetery and funeral-chapel was decided in a competition of architects in 2008, won by Bayer & Strobel Architects.
Peace and quiet
As an essential element of the redesign of the cemetery, massive quarry-stone walls were built, made of the typical local yellow-grey stone. They block off the cemetery from the street, enclosing it as a place of peace and contemplation while also acting as retaining walls separating the entrance area from the more elevated parts of the cemetery used for burials.
As the heart of the cemetery, the funeral chapel is made into a natural part of the entrance area through the use of quarry stone for its facade as well as in the interior. The result is a sophisticated series of interior and exterior spaces with finely modulated transitions.
Cemetery and funeral chapel are perceived as a harmonious unit and become an inseparable whole.
Farewell
Being not only a space of mourning, but also a place of hope, the funeral hall itself exudes a bright and friendly atmosphere, alongside large-scale windows open the view into patio-like courtyards. To do justice to its significance within the cemetery complex, it is clearly marked with a gable roof. This creates an interior that feels dignified and solemn as well as simple and appropriate to its purpose.
