Site Visit: Igualada

I had fortunate opportunity of going on an adventure to Barcelona and the Igualada cemetery. What a great adventure it was...seeing Mies' Pavilion (after one failed attempt), nicknames (Pink Ninja/Pinky, Brown Haired Girl, Miss Ju Ju, Big Brain Boy/Steviboy, Student no 1, Student no 2, Short Blond Hair, Kitty/Ginny Kitty Meow Meow/Great Gradma Ginny or just GGG/Sweet Tooth/Kit Kat, Clem Chowder), getting lost and then "rescued", lots and lots of delicious food (mmm fuet), cheese touches, leaving behind a couple members (this studio is after all survivor),and a little bit of soccer and beer too.

Then there is the site. Pictures of Igualada do not do it justice. This project cannot be photographed, not really. It has to be experienced, seeing the actual scale of the site (which felt much smaller than I thought it would)  and discovering hidden gems like the top of the chapel and the rosemary growing. What was most surprising for me was the feelings that were evoked. I was not expecting to feel as relaxed as I did. There was something very tranquil in hearing the wind rustle the grass or, at certain moments, feeling the sun pour into the chapel.

Miralles and Pinos achieve this sense of being in nature when walking through the site.
Seeing the site makes the task at hand, I think, easier and at the same time impossible. I find that I am questioning initial thoughts of where on the site to do the project and if any intervention would even make sense. There is no way to get an understanding of what is going on in the site with just one visit...I think the studio needs to just relocate to Barcelona for the semester.

Light wells on top of the chapel

View on top of the chapel

Chapel entry

Light condition inside the chaple

Looking into cemetery

Area outside niches