Located in the city of Rome, tucked away in an alley on the outskirts of the sacred ancient city boundary, sits a small building in a hidden gap site. Reflecting its proximity to the city’s ‘Chinatown’, one of the city’s most ethnically diverse districts and its rich contextual history of ancient funerary rituals, the proposed programme is a multi-faith funeral home.
In an area that is known for being on the ‘wrong side of the tracks’, the building brings together the ethnic minorities of San Lorenzo with spaces that cater to Muslim Bangladeshi, Taoist Chinese, Catholic Italian, and Catholic Filipino.
The Ancient Roman ritual of memorialising the dead through the plaster casting of faces drives the design methodology. The building is conceived as a series of layers and veils that envelop the visitors in their moment of mourning.