'añorbe cemetery extension' by MRM arquitectos, navarra, spain
image © mikel muruzabal
all images courtesy of MRM arquitectos

the isolated location of the 'añorbe cemetery' and it's new extension by MRM arquitectos and the municipality in general, perched upon an escarpment defines a certain set of arquitectonic criteria on a large scale based on the relationship with its context and the formal/functional discontinuity with the urban morphology of the town. the program formalizes itself through the new enclosure in two areas, with reinterpreted walls that extend the existing partitions: sculptors of the very contours to which they simultaneously adapt to and retain with concave and convex fluid moves that incorporate the sky, views, and landscape in a cohesive structure. the retaining walls redefine edges and spaces with a partial transparency created from the intrinsic material properties of hollow concrete masonry units (CMU) that, depending on the viewing angle, can offer a direct connection to various parts of the site or read as a solid mass completely separating the two spatial spheres. each transparent block contains it's own distinct void, enclosing the footprint in a permeable 
membrane that redefines the archetypal 'room' and allows each component to exhibit the passage of time through its own orientation and position within the compilation. nature, wind and light are free to pierce the threshold making the envelope a mere suggestion of space rather than an autocratic delineation, so the visitor may be entirely consumed within the serene environment at the same time satisfying the practical needs of an architecturally functioning construction.

entrance to the extension
image © mikel muruzabal

sideways CMU blocks create a visual permeability while delineating space
image © mikel muruzabal

partial transparency
image © mikel muruzabal

masonry detail
image © mikel muruzabal

wall in the landscape
image © mikel muruzabal

enclosed space
image © mikel muruzabal

floor plan / level 0

CMU construction details

project info:

client: ayuntamiento de añorbe

project architects: mrm arquitectos s.l.p. (miguel alonso flamarique, roberto erviti machain y mamen escorihuela vitales)
construction manager: mrm arquitectos s.l.p. (miguel alonso flamarique, roberto erviti machain y mamen escorihuela vitales)
collaborators: josep agustí de ciurana (structure)
technical architect: andoni ciáurriz arrarás
construction: construcciones inagar s.l.
photography: mikel muruzabal
competition: 11/2005
design phases: 13/11/2006
start construction: 01/07/2010
completion: 31/03/2011
location: c/ norte, 31054, añorbe, navarra, spain
built area: 32 m2 construidos
total area: 1,917 m2

[ طرح انتخاب شده از : Designboom ]