Trip to Scarpa Cemetery

Having visited the Fondazione Querini Stampalia a group of us made a visit to the Tomba Brion. It was interesting to see the difference between the two. While at FQS Scarpa’s intervention acted as a dialogue between a traditional vernacular and an abstract modernity, Tomba Brion could be read as an ultimate expression of Scarpa.

Yet Tomba Brion still plays on thresholds. On one hand it offers a stark contrast with the expanse of the horizon; objects placed in space. On the other hand, it’s metric form hints towards the otherworldly; hardcore design versus landscape picturesque. The chapel ‘floats’ on water and where the concrete pierces the surfaces, it becomes a platform for pond foliage. The aging material is somehow encapsulated within the design conception.