Inter 
Atlanta, GA

Urban Columbarium, Sanctuary, and Garden

Professor: Michael Gamble
Exhibitions: On Display in SoA Atrium

Located in West Atlanta is the Bellwood Quarry. The quarry itself has been around for more than 100 years and has more recently been abandoned. The site has been re imagined as the location for Atlanta’s newest and largest public park, and Beltline Trail connection point. Within this context, the specified program is that of a columbarium, designed and built to hold the ashes of 10,000 deceased.

Tucked away within this lighthearted and open context, the columbarium is to be buried beneath the earth and entered off the beaten path. The heavy emotional program would acknowledge its context and discreetly separate itself from it.

The space sits behind a portion of the carved quarry wall which faces directly south. As if to meet those who would mourn the loss of their loved ones, the sun gently settles into the earth. The openings through which the sun shines align with the sun’s movements at key points in the day over the course of the year.

In this dark space, filled with the memories of lost loved ones, the sun would softly fall on those who find themselves caught beneath the weight of the earth which surrounds them both physically and spiritually.

Construction Process

Developments in the technology of robotic legs which can crawl over sloped and uneven surfaces allow for the opportunity of stone cutting robotic arms to be paired with the mobile base. Programmed to follow specific plans of action in excavation, these solar powered robots can work at great speeds, or in slow phases, as is needed by the community. The cavernous space would be carved as people are buried, and the excavated granite would be used to help development in local neighborhoods.