Igualada Cemetery

Igualada Cemetery (also known as Cemetery Nou) was built by Carme Pinòs and Enric Miralles after an architectural competition held in 1984. Following the concept of a river of life as a "swirly stream that eroded the smooth curves of the banks of burial niches" (Peter Buchanan), they created a modern city of the dead. The cemetery is a site-specific sculpture embedded in the hilly landscape of Catalonia. In addition to a sloping link-up road that leads to a central funeral square, the architects provided a (still unfinished) chapel and a mortuary building. The emotional impact of the project focuses on visual forces which appeal to the memories of mourners and visitors. The dynamic shape of walls, ramps and landscape are used as an expression of life's fugacity. Enric Miralles was buried in one of the tombs after his death on July 3rd in 2000.