New cemetery in Järvafältet
The new cemetery of Järväfältet will become a modern place to rest. The burial sites will be a part of a modern
cultural patchwork landscape, as an evident and natural part of a recreational site in the centre of a multiethnic
part of Stockholm. The ambition is to add high architectural and artistic value to the area, to create a strong
identity of place. In order to contribute to a sense of community for residents as well as every body else who
makes their way to the coming cemetery and the surrounding landscape. Archaeological founds, new residual
landscapes and recreational areas will, along side a variety of burial customs and types, create integration in
time and space. In between cultural expressions and traditions – new, as well as old ones.
The botanical and cultural diversity of the existing landscape is a unique story of cultural landscaping. The
history of this landscape, and the dynamic development processes, will be made a valid part of the new identity.
This proposal identifies the value of a landscape which has been never consciously shaped or configured, but
has developed slowly over time – a collage of functions and characters. In stead of changing the landscape into
a symbolically charged cemetery, the existing landscape is perceived as one could call a ‘ready-made’,
complete with stories of its own and yet free to be complemented with new stories.
The new cemetery is to be completed in stages over a long period of time. To simplify this process, all burial
sites are arranged in small autonomous units. Individual islands of burial places in the changing landscapes. All
burial units are produced with care of variation, environment and durability. It is proposed that the individual
units can be developed separately and specifically to each location. Also, in a multicultural discourse, the
individual units can accommodate different symbolic values and expressions. It is this variation which creates a
modern cemetery.
The international competition was offered by the Municipality of Stockholm in October 2009. The future
cemetery in Järvafältet northwest of Stockholm is an investment of same strategic significance which signifies
the initiation of the famous Skogkyrkogården – a cemetery just south of Stockholm. A similar international
competition was offered 100 years ago and the winning project by Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerenz has
since been the outline for the long-term development of Skogskyrkogården, now on the UNESCO World
Heritage List.
