The cemetery is located on the leeward side, which is also the lush side of the island. The site slopes gently towards the sea, which is a present and integral part of both the experience of the place and the islanders' souls. It is a place of great quality, frequently used by residents in their daily lives. The site is also a cultural environment that should be gently developed, with contemporary additions carefully integrated into the landscape. Mareld's task was to design a memorial grove and an urn burial grove, well adapted to the terrain and intended to create new places for interring and mourning the dead.
The site has already been used as a memorial grove but needed a new design. One condition was that the existing ground surface must be left untouched.
A circular granite wall clarifies the dignity of the site and forms a boundary between the shaped and natural landscape. Wavy fields of perennials, grass, stone flour and granite stoves provide a harmonious composition that adorns the ornamental area and burial area as a whole. The topography of the site is marked by the wall partially projecting into the slope at the rear of the memorial grove.
A path of natural stone slabs, forms a ”bridge” over the grass area where ashes are buried. The walkway leads over a graveled ”beach” to a paved surface where there is seating and a planting with ornamental grass and a memorial stone.
The plantings at the front of the memorial grove are a symbolic sea where the perennials create vibrant color fields in blue and green shades. Bergekar is given space to expand. A large circular granite block is a place of decoration where you can put flowers in a vase or lay a wreath. Outside the wall that surrounds the memorial grove, nature can spread with wild honeysuckle and ivy.
MARELD was entrusted with continuing the work on Hönö cemetery. Once the memorial grove was completed, the next step was to create an urn burial grove. In the proposal, we placed the urn burial grove near the existing memorial grove. It is located in the highest part of the cemetery, where one sits with the forest at their back and a view of the sea. An ideal spot for an urn burial grove.
In the design, we built upon the aesthetic language of the memorial grove. The same building blocks are used— a semicircular wall, granite slabs, and undulating plantings. However, the elements are utilized in a different way. While the memorial grove is a closed space, the urn burial grove is open to its surroundings and part of a small walking loop. Whereas the memorial grove is inspired by the sea with blue-flowering, undulating plantings, the urn burial grove draws inspiration from the forest and the forest edge. White clouds of blooming bird cherry, honeysuckle, and ferns characterize the place.