Finding Peace and Hope...in Graveyards...

Cemetery of the Mantokuji Soto Zen Temple
Maui, Hawaii - 2010
Contemplating life (and death) at this brilliant intersection of land and sea and sky
can be a mind expanding, heart warming experience.

Graveyards and cemeteries have a powerful sense of place. If I come across one when I’m travelling, I almost always try to stop. Though they exist to commemorate death, more often than not, they impart to me a feeling of hope. I leave them with a satisfying sense of contentment and a renewed belief in the beauty of life.

Hierapolis, Turkey - 2012
Many hours can be spent wandering among the tombs Hierapolis (founded 2nd century BCE),
located adjacent to the travertine terraces of Pamukkale.

The tradition of burying loved ones is not part of my cultural heritage. Nepalese cremate their dead along the banks of rivers that spring from the Himalayas. Ashes mingle with the waters to become one with the mighty Ganga as it flows into the sea. All I know of graveyards has been gleaned through books and movies. As I gaze upon rows and rows of grave markers, I have no emotional connection to those whose physical bodies have found a final resting place in the earth before me. However, my appreciation of cemeteries exists and endures despite this lack.

Cemetery of St. Philip's Church in the Highlands
Garrison, NY - 2012

Graveyards and cemeteries appeal to my desire for order - not just spatial order, but cultural order, embodied by tradition. I can appreciate the the artistry of stone masons working with natural materials that telegraph the passage of time. 

Origo Family Cemetery at the Villa Foce
Tuscany, Italy - 2012

Origo Family Cemetery at the Villa Foce
Tuscany, Italy - 2012
Located on the grounds of Villa Foce, those who worked for the Origo family through the years
have also found a final resting place here.

I can also appreciate the way in which a place of private refuge can be carved out in some of the busiest and public of places. One can step out of the chaos of Istanbul, or the hustle and bustle of Boston and into a pocket park that houses history and transmits tranquility.

Cemetery at the Suleymaniye Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey - 2012

If every “picture tells a story” then surely every tombstone holds the key to multiple stories.  As a silent repository for the most basic facts of a person’s life – a name and two dates – the task of filling in the gaps belongs to the observer. If our minds are willing, the dates and the names, combined with the size, location and ornateness of the markers, all give us the context from which we might construct a possible life. What I find foremost in my mind is the weight of history, a consideration of hardships and dreams....a fervent hope for a life well lived.

Old Granary Burying Ground
Boston, MA - 2005
One of the oldest tombstones I've seen in the United States (1697/8), this one is located right in the city and has survived the elements quite well.  I assume that the skeletons refer to the temporary nature of life

A graveyard, as a physical place, must be the antithesis of the virtual place – the Internet - in which we spend greater and greater chunks of our time. Where the Internet spews out information, ad infinitum, graveyards withhold it. The Internet is about “real time” connections. Graveyards are about the past and letting go of our connections.

St. Philip's Church in the Highlands
Garrison, NY - 2012

One of the benefits of travelling is that it removes us from our daily routines and gives us the opportunity for a slightly different perspective on life. Graveyards seem to have the power to do this as well, and perhaps it is for this reason that I would gladly spend a morning or afternoon amid the grave markers, soaking in the solitude, just thinking...reading...sketching...dreaming….

Cemetery of the Mantokuji Soto Zen Temple
Maui, Hawaii - 2010

The Allure of Layered Space

Temple of Hadrian
Ephesus, Turkey - 2012

The architectural concept of "layered space" was pervasively evident everywhere in Turkey. At the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace, the Suleymaniye Mosque, the ruins of Hieropolis and Ephesus, the streets of Istanbul, and even in the humble rock churches of Cappadocia, space is revealed, screened, punctuated and illuminated to create a sense of "layers," directly influencing the way in which we experience our three dimensional world. It was a constant source of delight. I loved it.

Suleymaniye Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey - 2012

An architect's vocabulary includes many terms that don't often make it into our everyday conversations, which is a real shame, as they can capture the rich and complex characteristics of space in a single word or two. Layered space embraces nuance. It provokes a sense of discovery. It provides a frame of reference while foreshadowing what is to come. It is the antithesis of a one-liner.

Bayezid II Mosque
Istanbul, Turkey - 2012

The design tools employed to layer space center on the many ways (and degrees) in which perceived space can be defined and connected - or conversely separated. This may typically involve the use of level changes, deep niches, colonnades (row of columns), decorative screens, as well as openings to above or openings to below. Spatial volumes become interconnected and also divided into slits and slots which are often accentuated or reinforced with a change in materials, color, texture, and light. Because your perception of spatial quality changes as you pass from one layer and into another, the element of time is also added to the mix.

Hierapolis, Turkey - 2012

Hagia Sophia
Istanbul, Turkey - 2012

And because space is three dimensional, it can be layered vertically, as well as horizontally. I was especially intrigued with how this was accomplished in the mosques of Istanbul where beautiful bold chandeliers act as horizontal screens, or an implied ceiling. Within the grand interior volumes of these domed mosques, horizontal slots of intimately scaled space are created for people who would most likely be sitting on the floor.

Hagia Sophia
Istanbul, Turkey - 2012

Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Blue Mosque)
Istanbul, Turkey - 2012

The ultimate goal of layered space is to provide a rich and relevant sensory experience that also enhances the ways in which that space is used. For example, a colonnade or arcade can define a walkway just as well as a solid wall. However in contrast to the wall, it also provides a rhythm of solid and void, a view beyond to establish context which aids in way finding, and the illusion of a less constricted, more expansive space - all things that enhance the simple act of moving from point A to point B.

Celsus Library
Ephesus, Turkey - 2012

The concept of layering space is not limited to the inside of buildings. It works beautifully in landscape gardens - where garden walls, hedges and trees are employed to similar effect - and also in urban environments where degrees of spatial definition can indirectly guide us to recognize public areas as opposed to private ones.

Spice Bazaar
Istanbul, Turkey - 2012

So the next time you are sitting in your living room or going for a walk in your neighborhood, your city or maybe even in Istanbul, try consciously considering your sensory response to your surroundings. You will perceive the delightful "space within a space," notice the framed views, the literal and phenomenal transparency.  You will experience rhythm and progression, solid and void, figure and ground. You will respond to the promise of a destination. Your perception of the physical world will become more acute. That is the wonderful allure - and reward - of layered space...

On the Bosphorus
Istanbul, Turkey - 2012
photo by Roger Winter

All of the images posted here are also available for purchase as 8x10 and 5x7 fine art prints and A2 size greeting cards (all printed on archival water color paper) at http://DigitalYak.etsy.com/. Be sure to send me a message if there is something you'd like that you don't see listed, or if you'd like a custom size or item, as I truly enjoy creating one of a kind items that hold special meaning. Thanks!!