ABSTRACT
Death can be regarded as the ultimate sublime experience – unknowable and, to many, terrifying. The function of commemorative landscapes as places to experience the intense emotions of grieving distinguishes them from most other types of designed landscape. Mount Auburn Cemetery – the apotheosis of the English picturesque on which its design was based – began as a horticultural venture and soon became popular as a place of public recreation, presaging the creation of city parks in North America. It remains a remarkably florid place, designed and managed to bring a calming effect to the grieving process.
The Forest Cemetery in suburban Stockholm, despite its extensive tree cover, has a more sombre atmosphere. The constricted almost subterranean entrance and the open, uphill view across the meadow to the distinctive cross on the skyline are austere and central to the experience of the grieving visitor. The symbolism of the dark coniferous forest and the contrasting grove of birch trees is equally chastening. Geoffrey Jellicoe went to great lengths to rationalise the appeal to the subconscious of his design for the Kennedy Memorial. These types of site are programmed to bring both comfort and, in some ways, discomfort.
