Viewed from the surrounding housing developments, this funeral home on the periphery of León in Spain manifests itself not so much as a built structure, but as a precisely defined urban surface. The entire volume of the building is buried in the ground beneath a large rectangular pool of water. The roof, therefore, is the only visible face of the complex. Clues to the function accommodated below ground level are provided by the expressive “light cannon” and the courtyards cut out of the pool of water. The former seem to reach up towards the sky and serve to draw daylight into the chapel. The courtyards allow light to penetrate to the lower level and illuminate the adjoining laying-out rooms.