Tower of Silence

This small piece acts both as a sculptural landscape element and a functional space- architect Rafael Hintersteiner explains his design approach like the "Tower of Silence" is a building where life and death find together, a place to pause and meditate. When you look at the building at first sight, it doesnt give any idea about the function of the building -looks like a garden sculpture -but when you look at inside, it gives a sense of space -a kind of catharsis.
The desire of the old farmer was to be buried on private property, so the family set out to find a suitable location. After some discussion it was clear to create both a space where you can pray and for the grave - a meditation room, which should reflect the cycle of life. Two openings, one at the bottom and and another in the ceiling, put this into architecture.
The material, "Mühlviertler granite", comes from the immediate area and was edited by hand and bricked up piece by piece. The entrance door of polished copper creates a contrast to stone masonry that light reflections tell of impenetrability, as well as life itself is a mystery.

Project Facts:
Name of the project: Tower of silence
Size: 4x4x4m
Location: Naarn im Machlande, Upper Austria, Austria
Completion date: July 2015