Project Highlight | Eucalyptus Lawn East Burial Section
Transforming Memorial Spaces into Reflective Courtyards
The Eucalyptus Lawn East Burial Section at Altona Memorial Park reflects an evolving vision for memorial landscapes — shifting away from conventional grid-based layouts to create contemplative courtyard experiences. The design utilizes variable retaining walls to frame intimate zones that foster a sense of place, memorialization, reflection, and respectful connection.
Informed by both functionality and form, the retaining walls offer both structural support and spatial identity. The longitudinal courtyard becomes a softly enclosed sanctuary where the memory of individuals is preserved within a living landscape of native plants, shaded walks, and architectural dignity.
Services Delivered:
- Site-sensitive retaining wall design using generative tools.
- Curated memorial experience through spatial hierarchy and courtyard segmentation.
- Native planting design enhancing ecological resilience and sensory quality.
- Barrier-free access design integrated with sloped landform transitions.
- Integration of memorial plaques within landscape architectural forms for long-term durability.
- Clear visual rhythm between individual remembrance and communal areas.
- Material strategy emphasizing longevity, simplicity, and tactility.
- Enhanced visitor orientation and engagement through defined courtyard nodes.
Project Overview
This project redefines how we experience cemeteries in the urban fabric — offering layered memorial spaces that feel intimate yet open, structured yet natural. It represents GMCT’s broader ambition to blend environmental restoration with human-centered spatial planning, using design to elevate both the emotional and ecological experience.
With its clean concrete geometries, softened by thoughtful vegetation and light movement, the space merges form and memory in a way that transforms the cemetery into a place of healing, community, and timeless respect.
Design: Hamed Tavakoli (Meso Space)
Site: Altona Memorial Park, Melbourne (GMCT)
Year: 2023–2024 (Construction Phase)
