Interior of the cemetery chapel in Český Těšín

ASSIGNMENT
The subject of the assignment was the design of the reconstruction of the interior of the cemetery chapel of the main cemetery in Český Těšín. It also includes the modification of the room for the last farewell and the corridor that connects this room with the chapel.

BROADER RELATIONS AND HISTORY
This is a building that is part of an architecturally significant complex of structures serving the needs of the cemetery. Later, a technical background was added to the chapel building, which unfortunately does not respect the original morphological features of the complex. The chapel was built between the years 1920-1928.

CHAPEL – INTERIOR CONCEPT
How to suitably approach death and assign it meaning? At the same time, how to preserve the dignity and solemnity of the entire ritual? How to instill hope into souls and hearts, suppress heaviness? The circle. It is the root of everything. It is a symbol of harmony, unity, and infinity. A symbol of transience, but also of the complex meaning of life. The goal was to soften the boundary between the deceased and the survivors. By rounding off elements and arranging benches, communication between the mourners and the deceased becomes more acceptable.

OVERALL DESIGN
The design focuses on creating a unique atmosphere that will support the inner spiritual experience. The cemetery chapel is a place where we experience the last farewell with the deceased person. A place where dignity blends with harmony, an end with hope.
The layout of the designed building consists of three rooms, with the main room of the chapel realized in the first phase. In it, everyone is thus presented with a beautiful bright space, as if the entire world has opened up. The chapel is illuminated, full of hope, spacious, and airy. The perception of an end as a new beginning, the suppression of differences between earth and heaven. In the second phase, the room for the last farewell and the corridor between it and the chapel will be realized. The expected completion is in 2026.

CONCLUSION
Our design reveals that a comprehensive solution for all spaces can have a strong impact on the entire emotional experience. If it is necessary to attend this ceremony, then we should experience it in the most suitable atmosphere, where emotions can culminate. From the private farewell, private memories, moments of silence, and reflection in the room for the last farewell. Then we will walk through a dark corridor with mood lighting. Here we have the opportunity to reflect one last time, to take two deep breaths in and out. After that, we will enter the chapel, illuminated by the play of light and shadow. Calm, humble, and full of hope. We observe the ceremony in a circle of friends, family, and acquaintances. Candles shine around, softening the boundary of life and death with the rounded shapes of the furnishings. The vault of the apse shines, but there is no prominent lighting to disturb it. It shines because it holds hope, a long hope, an infinite hope. It never dies.