Images by HGA.
HGA, a national multi-disciplinary architectural design and engineering firm, reports the following on its website of a sacred space built to serve its community, past and present.
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Since its founding in 1871, Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis has served as the foremost resting place for Minnesota’s most distinguished citizens. Familiar names like Humphrey, Wellstone, Pillsbury and Walker are found here, among a long list of local pioneers, civic leaders, industrialists and art patrons. Laid over 250 acres of rolling landscape and adjoining the city’s historic Grand Round’s parkway system, Lakewood’s historical importance and impeccably manicured grounds make it a treasured landmark and community asset in the city’s Uptown neighborhood.
Natural light and a connection to nature through views of a four-acre garden that blends with the historic landscape strengthen the relationship between the spiritual and the earthbound.
The planning
Like many urban cemeteries, the cemetery is hemmed in by residential and commercial development, with little room to expand. One solution is to take advantage of trends toward cremation and other above-ground burials. Lakewood, which has a mausoleum that dates to 1967, saw an opportunity to maximize existing space and further serve the community by constructing a second mausoleum.
The 24,500-square-foot, two-level mausoleum provides options for cremation and crypt entombment in a state-of-the-art building. Built into a hillside to mesh with the landscape, the elegant design embraces Lakewood’s landscaping and architectural legacy: the rich palette of materials (granite, marble, wood) and architectural features (mosaics, bronze artwork, stained glass) were selected to connect with the cemetery’s other buildings.
The contemplation
Inside the mausoleum, visitors encounter a contemplative space. The interior is designed as a series of spatial experiences, in which the play of light and materials invite contemplation and remembrance. Natural light and a connection to nature through views of a four-acre garden that blends with the historic landscape strengthen the relationship between the spiritual and the earthbound.
Learn more about HGA and this 2013 project at www.hga.com.
