b-guided > Barcelona

b-ing Architecture

Last Rites

Sant Joan Despí Morgue

By Redacción 27.01.14

An architectural intervention that is equal parts landscape and building. The multi award winning Barcelona based practice Batlle i Roig Arquitectes recently completed this morgue which neatly interconnects car park, chapel, morgue and landscape into one very coherent whole. Featuring a pared back palette of materials which included the natural vegetation that surrounds the site, located in the Sant Joan Despí a suburb of Barcelona, the morgue is a finely crafted building. The project is both modern and classical in the sense that a recognisable repertoire of structural motifs and materials have been combined in a highly contemporary manner, the car (arrival) and the process of mourning are integral elements of this building which internally uses light to differentiate the public and private zones of the building in a highly sculptural and sensitive manner. Batlle i Roig are recognised for both their innovative landscape and architectural projects.

The project is organised around the access to the existing cemetery, the new building was constructed to the north with a parking area provided to the south connecting to the existing cemetery. In this way the new access is converted into an open ‘plaza’ that forms a connection between three key pieces; cemetery, morgue and car park. Integrated within these three elements is the distinctive vegetation which the architects have added to in order to reinforce the surrounding natural landscape.

The built volumes are designed to compliment the found topography using green pitched roofs which are planted in order to integrate within the hillscape and improve the views of the built intervention from the surrounding areas as seen from higher ground. This strategy helps reduce the perception if the building volume and its impact on the landscape by increasing the overall planted area.

  • The project is organised around the access to the existing cemetery, the new building was constructed to the north with a parking area provided to the south connecting to the existing cemetery. In this way the new access is converted into an open ‘plaza’ that forms a connection between three key pieces; cemetery, morgue and car park. Integrated within these three elements is the distinctive vegetation which the architects have added to in order to reinforce the surrounding natural landscape. 

  • The built volumes are designed to compliment the found topography using green pitched roofs which are planted in order to integrate within the hillscape and improve the views of the built intervention from the surrounding areas as seen from higher ground. This strategy helps reduce the perception if the building volume and its impact on the landscape by increasing the overall planted area.

  • The overall built area measuring 700 sq.m. is organised within two clearly differentiated zones, on the one hand a public area made up of functional spaces designed for the users of the facility and on the other a more private area used for the preparation of the deceased and the storage of the coffins. A series of courtyards reinforces the layout of the floor plan, these open areas are used to organise and illuminate the building spaces and establish filters between different functional zones.

  • The morgue’s structural system features slabs and walls of concrete marked with the patterns of timber plank formwork together with Corten steel plate columns. These elements define the aesthetic and character of the building, adding simplicity and legibility to the project. The materiality of the morgue is complemented by natural stone flooring and vertical panelling which add warmth to the interiors. The steel columns help to attenuate the light, establish visual filters and protect the interior from direct sun.

  • The materiality produced by the collection of exposed structural elements and their textures together with the natural light help determinate the ambience with each of the spaces, sympathetic to the visitor’s mourning within the architectural context of the building.  In this way each space is illuminated by a specific and unique light. In essence, light and materiality.

  • Tanatorio Sant Joan Despí, Barcelona
  • Batlle i Roig Arquitectes
  • Fotografía; Jordi Surroca
  • 2009-2011
  • www.batlleiroig.com