Design, manufacture and installation of 36 columbariums

It is the interplay of shadows and light, gliding through the crevices of the tombs toward the star carved into the floor—the very spot where this project begins and ends. The symbolic nature of the work takes precedence over its function: a representation of the triumph of Life over death, of the immaterial and intangible over the material.

Giving expression to the forms traced by these shadows and light required immense patience from everyone involved. Although the columbaria were constructed at the very outset of the project, their installation had to wait—pending the excavation work, the careful preservation of subsurface archaeological remains, the installation of the underfloor ventilation system, the reconstruction of the upper vaults, the restoration and mechanical fitting of the stained glass windows, and the recovery and re-laying of the wooden flooring—but, above all, it had to wait for the walls to dry. Years of waiting for a relatively minor intervention.

It represents the collective effort of many—working tirelessly to ensure that the work itself remains invisible; such are the paradoxes of restoration.