Built on an existing cemetery that lies on the shores of Lake Zurich in Switzerland, architects Andreas Fuhrimann and Gabrielle Hächler's Erlenbach cemetery building forms a dialogue with the site's church, but has a very different function. Conceived more as a pavilion, it underscores the quiet and intimate nature of the cemetery. Among the building's various internal spaces are a series of chapels of rest, which are accessed by a corridor that looks out on one side through full-height glazing onto the cemetery. Typical of the way that light throughout the project is controlled, coloured opaque glass provides a sense of atmospheric intimacy and while affording a degree of privacy. The architects describe the building's interior as 'introverted', which they see as 'allowing the necessary quiet for grief and saying goodbye'.
