Eternal Hill Columbarium

Funerals and grief are full of emotions. We often face the cemetery, the last place we say farewell to our family with fear. What kind of architecture will be able to drive away the fear, bear the emptiness of emotion and memory, and at the same time be a space for us to settle down and recollect the past? We need a carrier for grief and loss, it does not mean what we left behind after we passed, but it meant what kind of space encourages us to face our past. In this cemetery, it needs to carry 70,000 past, which means it needs to contain 70,000 irreparable regrets. The stacking of slanted walls constructs a vision of being surrounded by mountains. Placing incense, candles, and flowers on the “mountainside”, creates a wall and a chance for us to be lost in our thought. Wall being slanted and facing the sky, registering the rays of the sun, accompany us to confront fear. The skylight in the middle of the heavy concrete structure gently lays down light and hope in the courtyard. Wall is an element that constructs distance. In this case, by tilting the walls at a different angle creates a visual of it gradually leaving the griever. These walls create a distance of departure, instead of separation. A rectangular entryway invites unpredictable climate, and slanted walls introduce wind from different directions. As the cemetery is located in Hsinchu, Wind City. The design and construction method, of this wind tower, tells stories and memories of the city. Project name: Eternal Hill Columbarium Location: (address) No. 999, Lane 300, Xiangcun Rd, Xiangshan District, Hsinchu City, Design period: 2017 – 2018 Construction period: 2019 – 2022 Office Name: Behet Bondzio Lin Architekten Project team: Behet Bondzio Lin Architekten Lead Architect: Yu‐Han Michael Lin Building system: RC construction Technical data: Plot Area: 18550 m² Footprint: 3601. 18m² Gross Built Area: 7578. 89 m² Total Building Height: 5 floor above ground Program / Use / Building Function: Columbarium Office Website: Social Media Accounts (Instagram): behetbondziolinarchitekten Photographs: ©YuChen Chao Photography zaoyarch@gmail. com