Structural Configuration and Material Selection

The mausoleum, designed for the Calumeno family of Levantine descent, is a 3-meter by 3-meter cubic structure with a total height of 4 meters. The primary load-bearing system consists of reinforced concrete shear walls, while the exterior cladding is composed of 40 mm-thick Marmara marble. These marble panels are deeply carved into cassette modules, imparting a structural lightness to the overall form.
A burial chamber, situated in the subterranean level, was designed to accommodate the coffins. This necessitated an excavation depth of 3 meters below ground level to create the designated space.

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Design Principles within the Context of the Pangaltı Latin Catholic Cemetery
During the design process, a comprehensive analysis was conducted on existing mausoleum examples within the Pangaltı Latin Catholic Cemetery. Notably, the Rossi, Medovich, Carminati, Scotto, Castelli, Barozzi, Collaro, and Mratovich family mausoleums served as formal references, ensuring that the new structure adhered to the architectural language and typology observed in the cemetery.
To maintain material continuity, the design deliberately employs White Marmara marble, widely used in other mausoleums and tombstones in the cemetery. Over time, this marble develops a natural patina and color transformation, contributing to the cemetery’s historical and atmospheric texture. The use of this material was not only an aesthetic decision but also a strategic choice to reinforce spatial continuity. The Feriköy Cemetery served as a primary reference for both material selection and the three-dimensional articulation of the mausoleum’s form.

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Craftsmanship in the Modern Era: A Contemporary Interpretation of Monumental Architecture
The Feriköy Cemetery houses a significant number of tombstones, columns, frescoes, and monumental sculptures, dating back approximately a century. These elements showcase a level of artisanal craftsmanship that was once central to architectural detailing. However, due to the evolution of construction techniques, the reproduction of such intricate details has either become unfeasible or has taken on different forms in contemporary practice.
This project, therefore, seeks to address the question:
"How can a mausoleum be designed within the context of Feriköy Cemetery using contemporary construction technologies?"
The design aims to integrate craftsmanship with modern production methods, maintaining an architectural dialogue with the cemetery’s historical context while embodying a simplified, robust, and geometrically structured expression.
The modular stone components used on the façades redefine the traditional mausoleum typology, positioning this project as a prototypical intervention. The deeply carved interiors of the marble cassette panels distinguish this design as a unique interpretation of funerary architecture. The Waterjet CNC Carving process has transformed 40mm thick marble into 15x30cm cassette-shaped pieces.

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A Spatial Reading of Vertical and Horizontal Axes
The spatial narrative of the mausoleum is structured around two primary axes: horizontal and vertical, each carrying distinct symbolic and metaphysical connotations.
• The horizontal axis represents daily existence, mortality, and the transient nature of human life.
• The vertical axis establishes a metaphysical connection between the subterranean realm and the sky, symbolizing the transition beyond the material world.
The vertical orientation of the marble panels on the façade serves a dual purpose:
1. To visually elongate the prismatic mass, enhancing its monumental presence.
2. To reinforce the vertical axis as a metaphor for transcendence and the afterlife.
The century-old cypress trees found throughout the cemetery naturally align with and reinforce this vertical compositional approach.
Inside the mausoleum, verticality is further emphasized through the glass floor and skylight. The glass floor, positioned at the center of the interior, allows visitors to simultaneously look downward into the burial chamber and upward toward the sky. The reflective surface of the glass merges these two realms into a single perspective, reinforcing the concept of infinity and eternal light within the space.

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Architectural Conceptualizations
1. Cassette Modules and Structural Lightness
The design of the mausoleum is informed by four key architectural concepts, the first being the cassette modules on the exterior façade. The intent was to establish an abstract yet universal visual reference rooted in Christian architectural heritage, without resorting to direct iconographic representation.
The coffered ceiling of the Pantheon in Rome served as a precedent, particularly in its structural role of reducing weight rather than as a purely decorative element. Similarly, in the Calumeno Mausoleum, the progressively carved interior surfaces of the marble cassette panels not only contribute to the overall lightness of the structure but also generate dynamic shadow play throughout the day.
The rigid grid arrangement of these cassettes evokes a temporal metaphor, symbolizing the inevitability of death as a fundamental human condition.
2. Stepped Dome
Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa’s Brion Cemetery in Treviso served as a conceptual reference, particularly his use of stepped concrete elements to mediate architectural transitions. In the Calumeno Mausoleum, Scarpa’s methodology influenced the gradual transformation of the ceiling into a domed skylight, executed through brutalist concrete layering.
The integration of both modernist and classical Italian architectural references was a deliberate choice, aligning with the Levantine heritage of the Calumeno family.
3. The Illuminated Cross
Given the controlled penetration of light within the mausoleum, the marble cassette panels were strategically designed with concealed light slits, allowing subtle illumination without visible openings from the exterior.
At the apse, a cross-shaped light slit was designed, drawing inspiration from Tadao Ando’s 1999 Church of the Light. The abstract interplay of light and raw concrete, coupled with the cross-shaped void, becomes the focal element of the interior, shaping the visitor’s sensory and spiritual experience.
4. Transforming Spatial Perception Through the Glass Floor
In traditional family mausoleums at Feriköy Cemetery, coffins are stored in an underground chamber rather than being buried. These spaces, however, are typically dark, narrow, and inaccessible, making them uninviting for visitors.
Today, mourning rituals often involve a direct engagement with the resting place, prompting a reconsideration of spatial accessibility in mausoleum design.
Drawing inspiration from Bernard Tschumi’s use of glass flooring at the Acropolis Museum in Athens, the Calumeno Mausoleum employs a glass floor as a transparent, reflective, and luminous connection to the subterranean burial chamber.
This design intervention serves two primary purposes:
• Physically, it facilitates a more accessible and comfortable descent into the underground level.
• Emotionally, it offers a poetic encounter with light and reflection, symbolizing the coalescence of the earthly and the eternal.

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The Calumeno Mausoleum reinterprets funerary architecture by integrating traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design methodologies. Through a rigorous exploration of materiality, spatial relationships, and symbolic representation, the structure establishes a profound connection between the past and the present, the earthly and the transcendental. Ultimately, the mausoleum is conceived as a memory space that transcends time, preserving both legacy and meaning.