On the outskirts of Sapporo, Japan, you will find the Makomanai Takino Cemetery. Established in 1982, a large stone Buddha sculpted 15 years ago sat alone in a vast field, giving an ‘unrestful impression’ according to the client.

The cemetery wanted to give visitors a more serene appreciation of the Buddha and tasked the highly regarded Japanese architect, Tadao Ando, to devise an elegant solution.

 

 

Ando proposed to ‘hide’ the 13.5m (44 ft) Buddha below a hill of lavender with just the head peeking out. Underneath would be a 40m (131 ft) long approach tunnel that leads to a light-filled rotunda surrounding the statue.

When the great hall is reached, visitors look upwards to the Buddha, whose head is surrounded by a halo of sky. Check out the incredible drone tour below of this incredible place.

 

 

The hill of the Buddha is planted with 150,000 lavenders that turn fresh green in spring, pale purple in summer and snow-covered in winter. The cemetery is open from 9am – 4pm from April to October and 10am – 3pm from November to March. A 300 yen donation is requested for maintaining the lavender fields and facilities.

For visitor information click here.

[Vitra via Designboom]