IN MEMORIAM is an exhibition of some thirty architects’ designs for their own tombs — some newly prepared for the occasion, others long built and occupied. Asked to make a single drawing for the show, a series of contradictions compelled the making of two drawings in my case, the first of which is shown in the gallery.

The tomb is an object; its fixed position marks finality.
The tomb is a process; its ambiguous location reveals omni-presence.

The tomb is visible; it is to look into as well as out from, and therefore it must have a window.
The tomb is experiential; it is something vast yet framed, and therefore it must be a landscape.

The tomb cleaves; its structure interrupts, differentiates, and stabilizes precarity.
The tomb merges; it absorbs, spreads out, and sinks in.           

The tomb is best represented in elevation; it is of the horizon.
The tomb is best represented in plan; it is of the ground.


Exhibited at Yale University’s School of Architecture.