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Virginia Tech

A Descending Columbarium

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The project is a columbarium and crematorium complex. It is located on the Eastern peripherie of Blacksburg, Virginia. The site slopes downward to the South East. The project is organized in an axial arrangement following the direction of the slope. The program of the building does not follow any religious ritual and is culturally determined only in so far as cremation is an acceptable form of disposal of the deceased. In this sense the building itself becomes a memorial of the dead. With the exclusion of formal ritual as a guiding principle for an architectural expression of the contemplation of death simple geometric figures are meant to evoke a general sense of proper emotional and intellectual response to the phenomenon of death, perhaps to dying. This approach hopes to allow for individual contemplation of the ending and the end of human life.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Architecture
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Architecture
Department dc:contributor.department
Architecture
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2014

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Jiang, Xuyang
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Rott, Hans Christian
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Thompson, Steven R.
  • Cortes, Mario C.

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:2434
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/52560

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Jiang, Xuyang. A Descending Columbarium. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/52560