Highgate Cemetery

Aims: This project identified the narratives of wayfinding within Highgate Cemetery and explored the layering of the site both in time and space: the layers of history, the stories of the dead and the layering of nature.

Rationale: Highgate is one of the great Victorian cemeteries that surround London. Burial plots were laid out in landscaped gardens that incorporated architectural features, such as the Circle of Lebanon (tombs around an ancient cedar tree) and Egyptian Avenue. It delivered the Victorian fantasy of death by providing grand tombs with views over the city. Today it has transformed into an overgrown woodland, where views, viewpoints and landmarks are obscured under a dense tree canopy.

Proposal: The project developed a sound and light production that drew out the narrative of the site, whilst guiding visitors from the entrance courtyard up through the cemetery to the Egyptian Avenue, Circle of Lebanon and finally the Cedar of Lebanon tree. The concept was demonstrated through a theatre set with layers of scenery creating a sense of moving through the cemetery, as a soundtrack revealed the stories from the lives of the dead.