Vilna

Vilna, Lithuania

We were commissioned to redesign a cemetery in Vilnius, Lithuania and turn it into a monument.

A large building had been built over it by the Soviet Union, and in the process of its construction, thousands of graves were desecrated, many of those graves belonging to prominent Rabbis and leaders. This was an especially challenging project given the many restrictions on the site. We could not move any dirt as that would disrupt the graves, so site work was super limited. We could not dig any footings or install any wiring in the ground. Somehow we had to turn an eyesore into a powerful monument by doing almost nothing.
We arranged the ground in a metaphorical gridded cemetery of two species of flowers native to Vilnius. The species chosen were low maintenance ground cover to allow for yearly blooming without high cost. We then frosted the existing glass windows and added mirrored panels to the massive roof, reducing its appearance. During the day the roof reflects the sky and gridded ground. At night, the roof twinkles with the thousands of mini solar-powered lights planted at each corner of the ground grid. The forlorn, abandoned cemetery will finally be restored to the prestige it deserves.