The Brion Tomb and Sanctuary is a miniature masterpiece by an architect who spent a lifetime developing a very personal and completely modern style. Carlo Scarpa was acutely aware of the building traditions of the Veneto, and they informed all of his work. He received the commission from Honorina Brion, cofounder with her husband of the innovative electronics form Brion-Vega.
To the west is a chapel set partly in a pond lit through translucent alabaster panels. Its door is framed in bronze. To the south is another pond with a contemplation pavilion at its centre, approached across a bridge. But first one has to negotiate a passage with a door that sinks into the floor supported by a brilliantly designed and sculptural counterbalance system.
The basic material of the complex is concrete but the textures are carefully modulated, and there are interventions of more precious materials such as bronze, gilding, ebony, and panels of polished plaster in the buildings. Paths, steps and runnels for water, set on grass and beds of ivy, link the architectural incidents. From a distance, the outer walls evoke a medieval city wall, and the approach for visitors is made through a monumental gateway.
