建筑設(shè)計：古吉特·辛格·馬塔魯/馬塔魯合伙人事務(wù)所

1 外景/Exterior view

建筑

雖然火葬場沒有典型形式，但是這座火葬場以展館似的建筑物形態(tài)突顯出來，屹立在城市邊界外的空地上。然而，在當今的大多數(shù)城市中，這類場地已經(jīng)被城市的發(fā)展所吞沒，使得這座展館失去了其象征意義。

阿什溫尼庫瑪火葬場位于蘇拉特——印度西部的一個大城市——的塔皮河畔。蘇拉特位于西部的古吉拉特邦，是鉆石和紡織業(yè)貿(mào)易繁忙的商業(yè)中心。1992-1996的4年間，蘇拉特頻繁遭受可怕的天災(zāi)人禍蹂躪：1993年爆發(fā)一連串猛烈的社會動亂；1994年塔皮河發(fā)生嚴重洪水，導(dǎo)致一場災(zāi)難性的流行病，可能被認定為可怕的瘟疫。這個因骯臟污穢而受到嚴厲指責的城市，最終意識到了所處的條件；一任有能力的政府成功地動員了公民，在兩年內(nèi)使這個城市脫胎換骨。在此期間，新火葬場的設(shè)計競賽啟動，從29個參賽作品中，該作品脫穎而出。

該設(shè)計的第一個舉措是通過創(chuàng)建一個大型空場在其城市背景中重新闡明火葬場的基本特征。這塊場地通過結(jié)構(gòu)及所有輔助功能與周圍的建筑和道路隔絕，因而變得內(nèi)向，只面朝河的一方。此后，在這個平面上布置了滿足火葬基本儀式的功能——建筑結(jié)構(gòu)的基本線條是基于場地的傾斜角度提出的。

在尊重與火葬相關(guān)的強烈傳統(tǒng)信仰和價值的同時，該項目不僅試圖在城市環(huán)境中為火葬場找到一種有效的建筑表達方式，而且試圖充分地展示宗教在現(xiàn)代社會中不斷變化的角色定位。盡管儀式上與印度教相關(guān)聯(lián)，這座建筑本質(zhì)上是世俗的，對所有人開放，不分宗教信仰。

在建筑的一側(cè)，房間通向一個風景如畫的庭院，在那里可以進行各種集會。那里的景觀稀疏，不用維護，草坪由磚塊鋪圍，集會區(qū)域散布著大樹，在變換的季節(jié)中均有花盛放。

在一場儀式結(jié)束后，親戚朋友們離開場地，不是從入口返回，而是沿著河邊的斜坡爬下，有時在河里浸泡一下，再從岸邊回到路上，直到離開返家，從而貫通，象征生命的循環(huán)。這也回到了人們第一次看到建筑物的地方——到目前為止，建筑物一直作為它所舉辦的活動的“背景”，因此只能被體驗，不能被“看見”。

阿什溫尼庫瑪火葬場建于1999年，已經(jīng)舉辦過8萬多場葬禮；其間，它曾被淹沒在1m深的洪水中——在此期間儀式并沒有停止。

神話

印度教有近7.5億信徒，是世界上現(xiàn)存最古老的宗教，其信徒大多分布于印度次大陸，而其關(guān)于世界本質(zhì)和人類在其中的地位的范式概念已被確立，并為世界所接受。與伊斯蘭教和基督教不同，印度教沒有一套法典化的實踐體系。其宗教的實踐往往會在不同社區(qū)、不同地區(qū)之間差別巨大。

有一種為大多數(shù)印度教徒普遍遵循的習俗，即火葬死者。這種習俗與其信仰一致，即靈魂（或叫“jive”）的永恒性，以及它所居住的身體（“dehya”）的暫時性。人們相信，通過火葬肉體，靈魂從肉體的欲望中釋放出來，從而為解脫（“moksha”）做好準備?；鹪崾且粋€直接的儀式，象征解脫或轉(zhuǎn)世之前靈魂對身體的告別。傳統(tǒng)上，要被作為火葬場的圣地，“Smashya Ghat”必須滿足某些象征性的要求：一般來說，它位于水體附近，通常是河流，遠離人的聚居地，附近有一座小廟宇。

據(jù)說，為了從自身的熱量中解救自己，太陽神創(chuàng)造了塔皮河，也就是這個場地所在的河流。阿什溫尼庫瑪在這條河的岸邊。這個地方孕育著綿長悠久的神話：阿什溫尼庫瑪兄弟是蘇利亞和桑娜（Vishwakarma的女兒）的兩個孩子。他們出生的時候，蘇利亞和桑娜是馬的形態(tài)——于是兒子們生來就有馬的臉。在他們拜訪因陀羅克時，因陀羅神嘲笑他們非同尋常的長相。受到這種嘲弄的侮辱，他們決定自殺。納拉蒙迪知道他們的身份，建議他們：“一個人絕不能丟棄自己的身體。如果你逃避命運，你如何能解脫？”然后讓他們在塔皮河畔的這個地方洗澡，連鳥兒們在那里浸泡過圣水后都能找到解脫。聽過勸告，兩人都恢復(fù)了美貌。他們留下來成為治療大師——阿什溫尼庫瑪就是以這兩個靈魂命名的。

還有許多名字、其他的傳說交織在這個地方的經(jīng)緯中，這里也被稱為古普塔甘加；人們因相信恒河來到這里，將自己凈化，從而擺脫所有在里面沐浴的罪人的負擔。

體驗

（A）入口：

-有一條窄縫的實墻。

-里面什么都看不見，強調(diào)未知。

-一棵被光束強調(diào)的樹，打斷進入的路。

-生活往復(fù)，墻上的表達著了每天不斷的變化。

-沒有更多其他東西，已知之物變得非常有限。

（B）冥想平臺：

-暫停在已知與未知之間。

-從地上折疊出來，它在一片混亂中開拓出一定程度的理性。

-在每層上，已知的事物被未知的壓力碾壓；有多少被否定，還有多少剩余？

2 總平面與首層平面/Site plan and ground floor plan

3 東北立面/Northeast elevation

4 東南立面/Southeast elevation

5.6 剖面/Sections

-一個孤獨的存在，等待著那些被隔絕在延伸的畫廊中的人們；一個空間中的位置，漂浮但又腳踏實地。

（C）火葬爐膛：

-一排新月形的墻圍住了爐子，使死者家人與外界隔絕。

-每天，一道自然光穿透每個凹槽，一條明亮的線條慢慢地沿著彎曲的墻壁向著大地往下爬。

-接近崇高的接觸。

-對外面河水的一瞥，以及微風吹來的觸感，傳遞著一個尚未可知的未來：來生。

（D）靈堂：

-河流與地面相遇，河水進行著無限的漲落循環(huán)。

-收攏的安息平臺，被高高地抬升到河道的上方，顛覆了最初的感覺。

-在余下的封閉的背景前，是開放廣闊未來，不可揭露，不可觸及，卻有著持續(xù)的影響。

-景框、座位、背景都消失了，只剩下生命的河流與邊界。

-哀悼者追憶與抉擇的邊界。

（E）坡道：

-變窄的斜坡夸大了透視。

-看起來更長的坡道重疊了時間、空間，一個從建筑中走出來的人會慢慢經(jīng)過，帶著對生死變化的感悟。

-前面，一條狹縫，空而直觀。

-回望，塔，厚重而巨大。□（陳雨瀟 譯）

7 行進路線/Processional route

8 中心景觀庭院/Central landscape court

The Building

Although there is no archetypal form for a crematorium, the cremation place is marked by a pavilion-like structure standing in open ground outside the city limits. However, in most cities today,these sites have been engulfed by urban growth,making the pavilion lose its symbolic significance.

The Ashwinikumar Ghat (crematorium) is located on the bank of the river Tapi in Surat -a large city towards the West of India. Situated in the Western state Gujarat, Surat is a busy business centre trading for the diamond and textile industries. In a period of 4 years between 1992 and 1996, Surat was ravaged repeatedly by terrible natural and man-made calamities: A violent spate of communal riots in 1993. A severe flood in the river Tapi, resulting in a catastrophic epidemic in 1994,which may be identified as the dreaded plague.Severely criticised for its filth and squalor, the city finally woke up to its conditions; a competent administration succeeded in mobilising the citizens to the extent that within a span of 2 years, the city was transformed. During this period, the national competition for a new crematorium was launched,resulting in this entry being selected from among 28 other entries.

The first gesture of the design was to rearticulate the essential identity of the crematorium in the context of its urban setting. This was done by creating a large clearing. This plane was isolated from the surrounding building and road by structures incorporating all auxiliary functions. The site thus became introvert, looking only in the direction of the river. On this plane were then arranged the functions that would fulfill the essential rites of cremation - the basic lines that structured the building being drawn from the skewed angles of the site.

While respecting the strong traditional beliefs and values connected to cremation, the project not only attempts to find a valid architectural expression for a crematorium in an urban context, but also eloquently navigates the changing role of religion in modern society. Although connected ritually to Hinduism, the building is secular in nature, open to all, irrespective of religious beliefs.

On one side, the chambers open into a landscaped courtyard where the gathering can spill over. The landscaping is sparse and maintenance free, lawns defined by brick paving, and gathering areas interspersed with large trees that blossom in during the passing season.

On completion of a ceremony, relatives and friends leave the grounds not by returning along the entrance, but by climbing down the ramp on the riverside, sometimes taking a dip in the river, and climbing back on to the road from the bank before returning homewards, thereby traversing the cycle symbolic of life. This is also the place where one sees the building for the first time - so far the building has always formed the "backdrop" of the events it holds and can therefore only be experienced, never "seen".

Built in 1999, it has already been used for over 200,000 funerals; in that time, it has also been submerged in a metre of flood water - during which ceremonies were not stopped.

The Mythology

With approximately 750 million followers Hinduism is the oldest living religion in the world- with the majority of its followers located in the Indian subcontinent. The paradigmatic notions about nature of the world and man's position in it are established and accepted. Unlike Islam and Christianity, Hinduism does not have a codified system of practice. The practice of the religion tends to vary greatly from community to community and region to region.

One practice that is commonly followed by a majority of Hindus is that of cremating the dead. This custom is in tune with the belief of the immortality of the soul, or jive, and the temporal nature of the "dehya" (body) it dwells in. It is believed that by cremating the body the soul is released from the desire for the body and thus prepared for "moksha" (emancipation). Cremation is an immediate ceremony, a symbolic farewell of the soul to the body, before being liberated or reincarnated. Traditionally the site consecrated as a cremation ground, the "Smashyan Ghat" has to certain symbolic requirements: generally it is located adjoining a water body, often a river, away from human settlement, with a small temple adjoining it.

It is said that to save himself the Sun God himself from his own heat created the Tapi, the river on which the site is situated. At the bank of this river lies the site "Ashwinikumar". The site is pregnant with burgeoning myths: the Ashwinikumars were two brothers born of Surya and Sangna, daughter of Vishwakarma. At the time of their inception, Surya and Sangna took the form of horses - the sons in turn were born with horses'faces. On a visit to Indralok, the god Indra laughs at their unusual form. Insulted by this derision,they decide to kill themselves. Naramundi, aware of their identity, advises them, "a man must never forsake his body. How does onefind moksha if one avoids one's Karma?" and then asks them to bathe at this spot on the bank of River Tapi, where even the birdsfind moksha after a dip in its holy water.Thus advised, both men regained their beauty. They stay on to become master healers - Ashwinikumar is named after these two souls.

And there are many names, other legends told- interwoven within the warp and weft of this place also known as Guptaganga; it is believed that the great river Ganga comes here to cleanse itself from the burden of all the sinners who bathe in it.

9.10 燃氣火化堂/Gas cremation chamber

11.12 出口/Exit

Experiences

(A) The Entrance:

- Blind wall with a narrow slit opening.

- Nothing of the inside is visible, with an emphasis on the unknown.

- A tree accentuated by the shafts of light punctuates one's arrival.

- Reciprocating Life, the light on the wall narrates the changing nature of the day.

- Nothing else is revealed; the known becomes acutely limited.

(B) Meditation Plane:

- Suspended between the Known and the Unknown.- Folding out from the earth, it produces a level of reason cutting through the realm of chaos.

- Upon each level, the understood shatters under the pressure of the yet unknown; how much is the traversed, and how much remains?

- A solitary existence awaits those insulated in the extended gallery; a position in space, floating and yet well-grounded.

(C) The Furnace Chambers:

- A row of crescent-like walls encloses the furnaces,secluding the family from the world outside.

- Each day, a strip of natural light penetrates every alcove; a bright line slowly creeps down the curved walls towards the earth.

- Approachin g sublime contact.

- Glimpses out on to the river, and the contact flow of the running breeze convey an as yet unknown future: a life beyond.

(D) The Pavilion:

- River meets ground; the waters carry on their infinite cycle of ebb and flow.

- The compressed plane of repose, being elevated high above the channel of the river, turns the initial perception upside down.

- Against the closed backdrop of that which is left lies the vast openness of future, unrevealed,unreachable, and yet a constant in fl uence.

- The frame, the seat, and the backdrop all disappear,leaving only the river of life and the edge.

- The edge of introspection and choice for the mourners.

(E) The Ramp:

- A narrowing ramp exaggerates the perspectives.

- That which seems longer overlaps time, space,one exits from the building passes slowly with the comprehension of change.

- In front, a narrow slit, void and intuitive.

- Looking back, tower, thick and massive.□

評論

方曉風：火葬場是一個相對少見的類型，但不管在哪種文化里面，死生都是最大的問題，它總是會帶給人們超越一般日常經(jīng)驗的體驗。建筑選址在河邊上，讓人想起了在印度的恒河邊上所看到的景象。盡管設(shè)計師是以一種相對平易而開放的布局方式來進行設(shè)計，但仍然通過對光的控制和混凝土所塑造的體量展現(xiàn)了一種空間對于神性力量的表達。項目為保留大樹而留出了采光天井，這個形式所隱喻的生與死的關(guān)系是感人而有意味的。整體上它展現(xiàn)出了對死生永恒命題的現(xiàn)代思考和答案。

Comments

FANG Xiaofeng:Crematorium is a relatively rare architectural type, but in any culture, the matter of death and life is the biggest matter, and it always brings people experiences beyond ordinary daily experiences. The building is situated by the riverside,reminding people of the sights seen by the Ganges River of India. Although the designers produced the design in a relatively easy and open manner of arrangement, they still showed an expression of space for the divine power through the control of light and concrete architectural volume. The project has reserved a court of light to preserve the trees. The relationship between life and death metaphorically expressed in this form is touching and meaningful. In general, it shows the modern thinking and answers to the eternal proposition of death and life. (Translated by CHEN Yuxiao)

項目信息/Credits and Data

客戶/Client: 信托與蘇拉特市政公司合作/Narayan Trust in collaboration with Surat Municipal Corporation

主持建筑師/Principal Architects: Gurjit Singh Matharoo

設(shè)計團隊/Design Team: Gurjit Singh Matharoo, Komal Mehta, Rolf Seiler, Bimal Balakrishna

結(jié)構(gòu)工程師/Structural Engineer: Rajendra Singh Matharoo/Matharoo Associates

室內(nèi)設(shè)計師/Interior Designer: Matharoo Associates

景觀設(shè)計師/Landscape Architect: Vagish Naganur

電氣顧問/Electrical Consultants: Harshad Jhaveri

燃爐顧問/Furnace Consultants: Alpha Equipments,Rajendra Chauhan

崔光海：死亡是神圣的。這座建筑雖然有明顯“柯布”基因，但與本土的宗教生死觀、歷史環(huán)境統(tǒng)籌考量后卻煥發(fā)了自身的特色。建筑布局體現(xiàn)了對基地歷史環(huán)境的尊重，將主體火葬廳通過庭院與城市環(huán)境隔離，而與塔皮河建立視覺和身體上的聯(lián)系。人們從幽深狹長的入口空間走進彌漫著神秘肅穆光線的火葬廳，在熔爐邊緬懷逝者，在高塔中等待和冥想，而后走向神河中傾倒骨灰和沐浴，最后返回塵世，整個空間和活動序列構(gòu)成了一個極具宗教意味的輪回，表達了生與死、現(xiàn)世和來世的距離。

CUI Guanghai:Death is sacred. Although the building is an obvious "Le Corbusierian" gene, it brought out its own characteristics after taking into considerations of the local religious attitudes towards life and death and the historical environment. The architectural layout shows respect for the historical environment of the site, isolating the main crematorium from the urban environment with the courtyard, but establishing visual and physical contact with River Tapi. People walk through the deep and narrow entrance space into the crematoriumfilled with mysterious and solemn light, to memorise the deceased by the furnace, to wait and meditate in the high tower,and then go to the divine river to pour the ashes and bathe, andfinally return to the mortal world. The whole space and series of activities constitute a very religious cycle, expressing the distance between life and death, the present life and after death. (Translated by CHEN Yuxiao)

場地協(xié)調(diào)員/Site Coordinators: Falguni Desai, Snehal Derasari總承包商/General Contractor: Shakti Builders

結(jié)構(gòu)系統(tǒng)/Structural System: 混凝土墻與樓板/Concrete walls and slabs

主要材料/Major Materials: 鋼筋混凝土/Reinforced cement concrete

場地面積/Site Area: 5500m2

基底面積/Built Area: 2500m2

建筑面積/Floor Area: 2500m2

設(shè)計時間/Design Time: 1998

施工時間/Construction Time: 2000

攝影/Photos: Matharoo Associates