Entrance Pavilion of Cemetery

Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, France, 2008

The entrance pavilion punctuates the southern end of the new town center of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, providing articulation for the square bordered by the junior high school to the west and the gymnasium playground to the east.
The pavilion addresses a number of needs: creating an entryway for the cemetery, serving as a sheltered waiting area for burials, offering junior high school pupils a covered area, and housing public toilets.
This small building (200 m²) is commensurate with its urban environment and provides a link with the surrounding scenery. The large beam that suspends the entire awning over an axis of asymmetrical posts reflects the sough-after balance and the sense of tension in terms of scale between the individual features of the site.