floral requiem

Cemetery renovation

Type: Civic

Location: Cayey, Puerto Rico

Year: 2024

Status: Unbuilt

Partners-in-charge: Silvana Herrera & Armando Rigau

Design Team: Edényaliz David

Collaborators: Raúl Pérez Veve/ Diestra (Project Management)

Description: Cemeteries are often designed as final resting places—houses for the deceased. This proposed renovation in Cayey reimagines remembrance as an evolving, contemplative atmosphere that intertwines light, materiality, and structure.

A repetitive arrangement of columbaria pre-established a strict, banal order. To soften the space, perforated canopies filter sunlight, casting ephemeral patterns that shift with time. The bold use of color introduces a contemporary layer to the sacred space, subtly contrasting with the muted tones of stone and concrete. The pink alludes to La Robleda, a forest of native oaks that adorn Cayey’s slopes. These trees bloom delicate pink flowers twice a year, at most. The slender structural elements reinforce a sense of rhythm and lightness, while integrated seating offers moments for repose.

This intervention honors memory while introducing a renewed architectural language that embraces the transitory nature of our existence.