As human beings we cannot live without stories, we need them to fill those gaps in our reality, to live in our imagination those thousands of lives that are different from ours and, in some cases, impossible.
Could we qualify as "good architecture" that which has a story, or several stories, to tell us? That which is a story in itself? Such a subjective question undoubtedly generates different answers, but one possible answer is "yes". And one example is the Brion Tomb project, one of Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa's major masterpieces.
The Brion Tomb, with its poetic imagery and the beauty of its ornamentation, its details, and construction, with its particular and mysterious morphology, full of symbolism, holds many stories behind its design and to unveil some of them and to do justice to the purpose of this article, we will now tell its story.
Its author, Carlo Scarpa, was born in Venice on the 2nd of June 1906 and died, like many other great architects, tragically and following his passion, after hitting his head while observing a construction detail of an Italian marble staircase in Sendai, Japan, on the 28th of November 1978. Scarpa is arguably one of the most controversial and perhaps least recognized architects of the 20th century.
- Related article:
In perspective: Carlo Scarpa
The project is located in northern Italy, in the village of San Vito d'Altivole, near Treviso. Scarpa designed it for the Brion family, commissioned by Onorina Brion after the death of her husband Giuseppe Brion in 1968, on an L-shaped plot of land of over 2000 square meters around the old cemetery. Giuseppe and Onorina were co-founders of the renowned Brionvega company, which was very famous during the 1960s for producing television sets and unusual electronic devices designed by Mario Bellini, Marco Zanuso, and Richard Sapper, among others.
In realizing this project, Carlo Scarpa had a freedom of expression he had never had before, given the comfortable budget he had at his disposal, reflected in the project's architectural ideas. From the outset, it was an architectural manifesto of Scarpa's convictions, with concrete as the protagonist, with a strong focus on symbols materialized through different elements. This project is a synthesis of the successive influences that marked Scarpa's career: his knowledge of history, his interest in regionalism, and his capacity for constructive invention.
There are two ways to access the complex. One is from the cemetery, the other from the village. Both ways lead to the same point: the central tomb.
At the entrance to the cemetery, there is a propylon, an asymmetrical façade, enclosed on the left by a wall and on the right by a partition with vertical steps symbolizing strength and beauty. From this vestibule, one can see the famous vesica piscis, a symbol that has become the trademark of this project and is a recurring feature of the architect's work. This symbol consists of two rings, one with its edges covered with blue mosaics and the other with pink mosaics, and represents the union of the Brion couple.
The adjoining meditation pavilion reveals its strong influence by Japanese architecture, surrounded by ponds in which water lilies float and set apart from the rest of the elements of the ensemble. It is a concrete structure, a box split in half that seems to levitate above the platform surrounded by water, conveying a kind of balance to the place and to the visitor.
At the other entrance is the chapel, almost completely submerged in water, made of raw concrete, and flooded with natural light. It is accessed through a small triangular atrium connected to the square floor plan. The entire structure is organized in a series of oblique views. The path continues through a corridor tangent to the chapel, lit by slits.
The tomb of the Brion couple is located in the heart of the L, at the sunniest point of the site. The tomb is a contemporary revision of a type of tomb used since antiquity, especially in the catacombs of the early Christian era: the arcosolium. It takes the form of a semicircular niche with a carved arch over the coffin, which is usually a sarcophagus. Under the concrete arch that protects them are the tombs of Onorina and Giuseppe Brion. They are side by side, leaning towards each other to represent their affection and their unbreakable bond. The work in concrete shows the architect's knowledge of this material. He boldly combines it with mosaic and bronze elements, once again seeking aesthetic and spiritual balance.
The work is, in its entirety, a vivid example of architectural narrative. The meditation pavilion is dedicated to a more personal and introspective use, the chapel is dedicated to a collective celebration, two aspects which meet at the level of the spouses' tomb in the center of the cemetery. These functions are harmoniously united by the vegetation, the cypress trees, and the path of the water that guides the visitor. These elements are part of a formal poetry that forms Carlo Scarpa's narrative architecture. This is what makes the Brion Sanctuary a place for the dead and for the living.
Carlo Scarpa designed this tomb to highlight interiority through forms, a place where you can "feel" and talk to your soul, and, it is noteworthy that, at his own request, he is buried - standing - in a sober and discreet white tomb next to the sanctuary.
Throughout this article, a photographic essay has been presented that describes one experience - among many that must be felt - when visiting this work.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on November 03, 2022.
