A Lighting Environment that Creates a Solemn Mood Appropriate for Final Farewells

Kawaguchi City Megurino-mori is a cremation facility located in a 9-hectare park near a shoreline and surrounded by greenery. It was designed to evoke a close connection to the earth to reflect our awareness that we are born of the earth and shall return to it. From the large peripheral windows, one has a clear view of the park greenery and shoreline, which creates a very open yet integrated space. This facility is focused on creating an atmosphere suitable for a place of final farewells where bereaved families can remember the deceased and say goodbye in peaceful surroundings. In the Entrance Hall and the Waiting Hall, a high soaring ceiling formed of free-flowing curves melds with the pillars, while the indirect lighting emphasizes the beauty of the curves. The room in front of the crematorium, where attendees say their final goodbyes to the deceased and later collect the remains for inurnment, was designed with lighting settings tailored to each purpose. The cornice lighting appears to encircle the room, while the cove lighting directed toward the ceiling creates an environment reminiscent of an evening sky as one sends off the deceased to the heavens with a warm and solemn sentiment. Later, when the attendees gather to collect the remains for inurnment and the bereaved can collect their thoughts before leaving the facility, the lighting transitions to mimic a clear blue sky.