Ingelheim Funeral Chapel / Bayer & Strobel Architekten

Architects: Bayer & Strobel Architekten
Location: Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany
Design Team: Gunther Bayer, Peter Strobel
Project Year: 2012
Photographs: Courtesy of Bayer & Strobel Architekten

Client: Stadt Ingelheim am Rhein

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. the funeral hall itself exudes a bright and friendly atmosphere. 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.