Aan mijn liefste (‘Dearest’)
The commission is a special honor, as it involves developing new rituals for grieving and new forms of remembering and memorializing the dead. There is an element of ‘play’ to the rituals, making room for all visitors, including children, to shape their own grieving process, that it may help lighten the melancholy inherent to mourning.
Aan mijn liefste (‘Dearest’) consists of a small pavilion/chapel built around a tree, with three niches on the outside. Here, people can write letters to the departed, and then leave their words behind in the wall of the pavilion. Inside, there is room for memorial name plates. It is suggested two picnic benches be placed nearby for informal gatherings.
Aan mijn liefste (‘Dearest’)
2015-2017
Floor space: 50 sq mtr - 525 sq feet
Type: non-denominational chapel
Design Assignment: architecture and furniture
Commissioned work: Daelwijk Cemetery, Cultural Affairs of the City of Utrecht, Mondriaan Fund