Architecture practice 182 Design has completed Sanctum of Trees, a stone memorial space in Tamil Nadu, India, that was lined with deep red concrete to symbolise the human heart. The memorial was commissioned by the son of a philanthropist, who over his lifetime had transformed a 35-acre (14-hectare) area of farmland near the city of Erode into a forest.
This Stone Memorial Is Lined With Deep Red Concrete To Symbolise Human Heart | 182 Design
Looking to celebrate this accomplishment and the father’s love of trees, 182 Design created a simple space for reflection within the forest, contrasting a tactile stone exterior with a deep red interior. “The client wanted to honour his father not through a statue or inscription, but by celebrating the forest he had planted,” studio founder Lokesh PB told Dezeen.
“We wanted the design to embody ideas of reverence, regeneration and quiet presence, more like a spiritual threshold than a built monument,” he added. A curved section of stone wall marks the entrance into the site, where the cubic memorial sits in a small clearing surrounded by existing trees and a pebbled area.
A deep, weathered steel entrance projects from the eastern side of the memorial. A curving path leads through it into a circular courtyard inspired by the Karuvarai, with a stone exterior that blends with the forest and a bold red interior meant to evoke the human heart.
“Stone shapes our exterior — still, permanent,” PB said.“The designers cast red-stained concrete inside to evoke raw emotional depth, subtly nodding to the human heart.” And we fabricated the threshold from raw steel; it will weather and age, much like the surrounding trees. “The designers meant the materials to shift subtly with time, letting the structure age in harmony with the forest.”
Planted in the centre of the courtyard is an Adansonia digitata tree, often referred to as the “tree of life”. The studio called this tree the project’s “emotional anchor,” which will gradually grow to fill the courtyard. “[The tree] replaces the idea of a statue or shrine with a living, growing presence,” explained PB. “Over time, it will embrace the structure, keeping the father’s memory alive—not in stone, but through life itself.”
“We hope the structure stands as a poignant reminder that nature will outlast and transcend the manmade,” he added.
Fact File
Designed by: 182 Design
Project Type: Forest memorial
Project Name: SANCTUM OF TREES
Location: Tamil Nadu
Year Built: 2024
Built-up Area: 35 acre
Principal Architect: Lokesh Pb
Photograph Courtesy: Lokesh Pb
Source: Dezeen
Firm’s Website Link: 182 Design
Firm’s Instagram Link: 182 Design
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