Columbarium of La Chartreuse cemetery, Bordeaux, France

Public commission made in collaboration with Martial Marquet (architect) and Atelier Renan Rousselot (landscape architect)
Pictures_Emile Barret
︎ 2023

he Columbarium and Memorial Garden of the Chartreuse Cemetery are the result of an architecture competition, won in 2022 by Jenna Kaës, designer; Martial Marquet, architect; and Renan Rousselot, landscape architect. It is a specific creation that combines artistic, architectural, and landscape elements. As a funerary monument designed to hold the urns of the deceased, the Columbarium rises amidst a wide Memorial Garden, where ashes are scattered or where visitors come to pay their respects. The structure consists of four walls housing around a hundred compartments, and the exterior features a collection of fragments and objects, all derived from abandoned old funeral monuments. These four walls outline a pathway winding through the Memorial Garden.

The Columbarium is situated within the historical and aesthetic context of the Chartreuse Cemetery, a former monastic garden, which became both a cemetery and a philosophical park in the 19th century. It is a generously planted space where the Columbarium and the Memorial Garden are integrated into a true landscaped promenade.

This space is both private and intimate, shielded from sight, and yet teeming with life thanks to the richness of the vegetation incorporated into the project. Observing the location and environment, one notices that it is placed in a quieter, greener part of the cemetery. The north and east sides offer a bucolic landscape of limestone and moss. This impression is reinforced by the reduced traffic of surrounding streets. Less noisy than the boulevards, the outskirts of the site, with its shifting gravesites due to clayey soil and spontaneous vegetation, evoke a poetic image of a living cemetery.

Far from any gravesite, this site provides an opportunity to plant abundant vegetation, offering visitors a real sense of privacy within a garden filled with trees. The whole area is organized around a promenade through this garden, featuring a prominent entrance from the Bougie War Memorial and a more discreet exit along the pathway bordering the site. Between the entrance and exit, a series of spaces conducive to reflection are arranged, where stone and vegetation harmoniously dialogue.

WITH A HISTORICAL, SYMBOLIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH, THE FUNERARY SLABS AND DECORATIONS, derived from abandoned graves and monuments of the Chartreuse Cemetery, have been used as the primary resource.

The space is complemented by benches and an altar, each constructed from stones originally used within the cemetery. Some stones come from a Romanesque-style funerary chapel that collapsed during a stormy night in autumn 2022. These furnishings offer an “open use,” inviting ceremonial reflection upon arrival of a procession. The central stone table, reminiscent of a primitive altar, provides a place to lay the urn, flowers, or any other objects loved ones wish to incorporate into their ritual of deposit in the funerary monument. Through this ensemble, each individual, regardless of faith or none, can pause and reflect for a moment, in whatever manner they choose. The flexible, dignified, and adaptable format aims to suit every funeral ritual.

A pathway leads to the Columbarium, a structure that appears as a passageway, opening up to a second garden upon entry. An open-air passage, in which each wall features a symphonic assembly of concrete drapes, cut to form the compartments’ doors. A decoration that evokes the motif of drapery, familiar in European cemeteries, expressing grace and solemnity through its flowing form. These flowing drapes invite visitors to place flowers, small stones, or other elements that help loved ones embody the memory of the deceased during moments of reflection. The exterior of this minimalist masonry ensemble, with its raw and understated materiality, highlights numerous ornaments taken from the site — reminiscent of a rubble wall, witnesses to the cemetery’s rich history and aesthetic.

Cornus, service trees, maples, oaks, and Judean trees create a diversified and lush green setting.

Over time, the panorama will take the form of a clearing surrounded by dense shrubbery and varied trees. The vegetation consists of native and diverse species. For economic and environmental reasons, hardy and well-adapted species have been planted to better adapt to the site conditions and to conserve water.

This entire vegetal ensemble is considered the “Memorial Garden,” allowing the free dispersal of ashes in the shrubbery, where each person can choose a meaningful spot—whether a specific tree, near a bench, etc. Nomenclature and memorial plaques dedicated to the dispersed deceased are attached to the stone benches. Intentionally informal and based on the wishes of loved ones, this approach subtly unites the living and the dead — echoing traditional memorial benches along walkways.

This composition of the Columbarium and Memorial Garden in the Chartreuse Cemetery of Bordeaux is freely accessible. Visitors can enter from either of the two garden entrances, with the option to continue along the established path or not, as they wish. It has been designed in harmony with the original space, allowing nature to evolve beyond the constructions. One hopes to see mosses and lichens grow on walls and rocks, grasses and flowers flourish between the paving slabs.