Neochorion Cemetery. A Stop or The Destination? Seeking for Answers in Pelion Landscape

Our project location, the Cemetery of Neochorion, is located in Pelion, a mountain region in the central Greece. The nature seems to be almost untouched by human and the villages are built in a traditional, almost picturesque way, making it challenging to interfere in the existing landscape.
The design was based mainly on the existing natural elements such as terrain relief, plants and streams. The element of water was connected with the creation of small lakes and raingardens, which both follow the terrain relief. As we go down the pathway to the cemetery the water is moving, while when we reach the cemetery the water has a more static character. The flow and immobility of water is mentally linked with the idea of life and death, which helps the visitors to understand better the place they are stepping on. The preservation of the forest was also something important for us, since it holds the cemetery square and consists of memorial trees. For the suggested plants we chose those that already existed in the area of Neochorion, or that were capable of surviving in the conditions of this specific area. Cypress is, also, used all along the pathway as an element which foreshadows the walker for the existence of a cemetery at the end of the path since the specific tree is connected with death and the cemeteries by Greek mythology.