Housing the dead; memories of mortals
Bachelor of Architecture 6th Year Project
Bachelor of Architecture 6th Year Project
Through grievance, realisation of own mortality, homelessness or evenescapism (from ones everydayness), one experiences the feeling ofsolitude. This solitude opens you up to the world, lifts you fromeverydayness and allows you to see the essence of things. It is arealisation that you are alone in the world. It allows for reflectionon mortality and oneself.
The cemetery is a place that allows for this. It is a place ofremembrance, allowing the dead to linger in the minds of the livingand providing a place for the left behind to reflect and contemplate.It is a place that contains within it memories of the past and alsopotential memory of the future.
These memories of the past are still celebrated by those still living, beit within the boundaries of a cemetery, a memorial statue of thosewho died, or through private memorials. But there are those memoriesof the past; mortals and things, that are barely seen, reclaimed bythe earth, only visible by traces of what was there before.
In the city these traces can take the form of ruins, exposed sites of archaeological /historical interest, or forgotten burial grounds.
The cemetery is a place that allows for this. It is a place ofremembrance, allowing the dead to linger in the minds of the livingand providing a place for the left behind to reflect and contemplate.It is a place that contains within it memories of the past and alsopotential memory of the future.
These memories of the past are still celebrated by those still living, beit within the boundaries of a cemetery, a memorial statue of thosewho died, or through private memorials. But there are those memoriesof the past; mortals and things, that are barely seen, reclaimed bythe earth, only visible by traces of what was there before.
In the city these traces can take the form of ruins, exposed sites of archaeological /historical interest, or forgotten burial grounds.
It was these forgotten burial grounds that I first investigated inLincoln. (as shown by this map) I visited and studied each of theold burial grounds in Lincoln and looked at their history. Thesmaller maps below show the way in which Lincolns burial grounds havegradually been evicted from the city. It shows how previously thelocal communities had a close connection with their dead, how deathbecame part of the everydayness and ultimately helped with theacceptance and recognisation of mortality.
Through fear of spread of disease, lack of space and urban development thecemetery was gradually evicted from the city .The map (left middle ‐1856) shows Lincolns full burial grounds and the gradual movement oflocal burials to the outer city.
The map shows the amount of space being taken up byforgotten dead in todays out of town deserted cemeteries which arerapidly and continuously filling up. The old cemeteries within thecontext of the city are now forgotten too, with urban development andre routing of transport links within the city taking over the oldboundaries of the burial grounds and creating pockets of space withinthe city that are left behind and uncomfortable.
It is these cemeteries’ however, designed to house the rituals andmemories of the dead that are the focus of this design project. Thecities and towns that the cemeteries once served, through overdevelopment, land prices and demand for more space have pushed thecemeteries out of the city and to its outskirts, creating places thatare devoid of connectionwith the living, a place of mere storage, without memories.
This disconnection between the living and the dead creates a series ofissues that need addressing, one of which being visitation. Theritual of visitation has become less frequent as the locale of theburial becomes more detached from the everydayness of those left behind. This has significant impact on not only the pragmatic issuessuch as poor/less frequent maintenance of the graves but also on theprocess of grievance, recognisation and ultimately acceptance of ourown mortality.
It is these issues among many others that contribute to the currentsituation, which is sprawling, monotonous cemeteries which take upvast areas of outer city space, detached from those left behind,devoid of memory.
The dead no longer linger in the minds of the living, we are only reminded ofthem briefly; the cemetery has lost its essence.
by Rob Jones of the BBC;
“Critical problem
A recent audit of burial space by the Greater London Authority foundeight boroughs were completely full, with no space for new burials.Another 10 boroughs have a "critical" problem, and arepredicted to exhaust available space in 10 years.
The greatest focus is on London, but the problem is nationwide.Cemeteries have been expanded in Leeds; there are problems in Surreyand Lincolnshire”
Implementing above ground interments widely used in Europe would help the cemeteryto house up to 5 times more burials than it would by usingtraditional burial methods.
Through fear of spread of disease, lack of space and urban development thecemetery was gradually evicted from the city .The map (left middle ‐1856) shows Lincolns full burial grounds and the gradual movement oflocal burials to the outer city.
The map shows the amount of space being taken up byforgotten dead in todays out of town deserted cemeteries which arerapidly and continuously filling up. The old cemeteries within thecontext of the city are now forgotten too, with urban development andre routing of transport links within the city taking over the oldboundaries of the burial grounds and creating pockets of space withinthe city that are left behind and uncomfortable.
It is these cemeteries’ however, designed to house the rituals andmemories of the dead that are the focus of this design project. Thecities and towns that the cemeteries once served, through overdevelopment, land prices and demand for more space have pushed thecemeteries out of the city and to its outskirts, creating places thatare devoid of connectionwith the living, a place of mere storage, without memories.
This disconnection between the living and the dead creates a series ofissues that need addressing, one of which being visitation. Theritual of visitation has become less frequent as the locale of theburial becomes more detached from the everydayness of those left behind. This has significant impact on not only the pragmatic issuessuch as poor/less frequent maintenance of the graves but also on theprocess of grievance, recognisation and ultimately acceptance of ourown mortality.
It is these issues among many others that contribute to the currentsituation, which is sprawling, monotonous cemeteries which take upvast areas of outer city space, detached from those left behind,devoid of memory.
The dead no longer linger in the minds of the living, we are only reminded ofthem briefly; the cemetery has lost its essence.
by Rob Jones of the BBC;
“Critical problem
A recent audit of burial space by the Greater London Authority foundeight boroughs were completely full, with no space for new burials.Another 10 boroughs have a "critical" problem, and arepredicted to exhaust available space in 10 years.
The greatest focus is on London, but the problem is nationwide.Cemeteries have been expanded in Leeds; there are problems in Surreyand Lincolnshire”
Implementing above ground interments widely used in Europe would help the cemeteryto house up to 5 times more burials than it would by usingtraditional burial methods.
By reintegrating the cemetery into the city within the context of apublic amenity space it enables the public users of the park toexperience and recognise death and their own mortality in their everydayness. It also allows its users to find spaces to reflect andfind solitude in a landscape design to aid and evoke this.
A possible construction strategy would be to form a series of terracesin the site using contiguous piled walls which when in place wouldretain the earth and prevent the road from slipping down the site. Aswell as providing a secure basis for the road above and the siteitself it also provides the basis in which to construct a buildingthat is fully integrated into the landscape. Using poured in situconcrete with a waterproofing agent mixed into it would also cast afully tanked and waterproof basis for construction. This method would form a stepped framework on which the building could be designed.
After researching the methods of use of poured in situ concrete I became aware of the work of Tadao Ando. Two of his projects became strongprecedence in the overall design, material selection and constructionmethods in my design process.
By using above ground interments and other types of burial theexperience of visitation becomes more engaging and allows for more burials to take place within a smaller site. This system would allowfor cemeteries to having a longer life span and potentially create aself sustainable cemetery and park.
By constructing a series of terraces which secure the land from slippingby using contiguous piled walls and rammed earth it allows a primelocation in the heart of the city of Lincoln which has previouslybeen shied away from to be utilised in a positive way which enhancesits setting and surrounding community.
Byembedding the architecture into the hillside it will blend into theearthwork as if it was a natural aspect of the land, the design ofthe tiered landscape will helps the scheme unfold into the landscapeas a continuous and fluid procession.
A possible construction strategy would be to form a series of terracesin the site using contiguous piled walls which when in place wouldretain the earth and prevent the road from slipping down the site. Aswell as providing a secure basis for the road above and the siteitself it also provides the basis in which to construct a buildingthat is fully integrated into the landscape. Using poured in situconcrete with a waterproofing agent mixed into it would also cast afully tanked and waterproof basis for construction. This method would form a stepped framework on which the building could be designed.
After researching the methods of use of poured in situ concrete I became aware of the work of Tadao Ando. Two of his projects became strongprecedence in the overall design, material selection and constructionmethods in my design process.
By using above ground interments and other types of burial theexperience of visitation becomes more engaging and allows for more burials to take place within a smaller site. This system would allowfor cemeteries to having a longer life span and potentially create aself sustainable cemetery and park.
By constructing a series of terraces which secure the land from slippingby using contiguous piled walls and rammed earth it allows a primelocation in the heart of the city of Lincoln which has previouslybeen shied away from to be utilised in a positive way which enhancesits setting and surrounding community.
Byembedding the architecture into the hillside it will blend into theearthwork as if it was a natural aspect of the land, the design ofthe tiered landscape will helps the scheme unfold into the landscapeas a continuous and fluid procession.
The crypts vary from three to five bodies high with each person beingplaced in their own crypt. The location of which would be kept at thereception.
The walls that make up the crypt are built from cast in situ concrete andare imbedded into the terrain of the park as slices through thelandscape creating spaces that allow the mourners privacy but alsoallow a level of interaction with fellow mourners, funeral goers andthe public using the park.
Bodies are held in these walls for a paid fee depending on the amount ofyears for which the plot is let. The crypt walls are constructed toallow for suitable handling of bodily fluids from the decompositionof the body with no noticeable odours or leakages. After five yearsthe bodies should be rid of all fluids and the remains should beskeletal. The crypt walls always retain earth in which fluid from thebodies is allowed to drain. At the end of the letting period theremains can be reclaimed by family members or the let can beextended. In the situation when the family no longer want to keep thecrypt the remains can be reclaimed and the individual crypt cleanedand reused.
An alternative burial type will also be offered on site. TheNatural death centre is a social entrepreneurial educational charitythat gives advice on all aspects of dying bereavement and consumerrights in this area.
Since itsinception in 1991 the Natural Death Centre has ‘sought to empowerand inspire the public in all matters relating to death and dying,and in particular to increase awareness of funeral choices outside ofthe mainstream.’ One of ‘outside of the mainstream’ choices isthe Natural burial grounds, the first of which was implemented in May1993 in Carlisle, now there are over 200 in the UK.
The idea is that the body is buried in a biodegradable coffin and is notplaced in a burial vault or container which would prohibit the body’scontact with the soil, instead it is buried in a grave shallow enoughto encourage and allow microbial activity similar to that found incomposting. In most cases a tree is planted instead of using aheadstone.
This process is in keeping with the ethics and ideals set in my project of a sustainable cemetery and eradicate the need to have expensive headstones and allow the body’s nutrients to return to the earth and the tree. Instead the grave will be marked simply with a copper tree tag.
The walls that make up the crypt are built from cast in situ concrete andare imbedded into the terrain of the park as slices through thelandscape creating spaces that allow the mourners privacy but alsoallow a level of interaction with fellow mourners, funeral goers andthe public using the park.
Bodies are held in these walls for a paid fee depending on the amount ofyears for which the plot is let. The crypt walls are constructed toallow for suitable handling of bodily fluids from the decompositionof the body with no noticeable odours or leakages. After five yearsthe bodies should be rid of all fluids and the remains should beskeletal. The crypt walls always retain earth in which fluid from thebodies is allowed to drain. At the end of the letting period theremains can be reclaimed by family members or the let can beextended. In the situation when the family no longer want to keep thecrypt the remains can be reclaimed and the individual crypt cleanedand reused.
An alternative burial type will also be offered on site. TheNatural death centre is a social entrepreneurial educational charitythat gives advice on all aspects of dying bereavement and consumerrights in this area.
Since itsinception in 1991 the Natural Death Centre has ‘sought to empowerand inspire the public in all matters relating to death and dying,and in particular to increase awareness of funeral choices outside ofthe mainstream.’ One of ‘outside of the mainstream’ choices isthe Natural burial grounds, the first of which was implemented in May1993 in Carlisle, now there are over 200 in the UK.
The idea is that the body is buried in a biodegradable coffin and is notplaced in a burial vault or container which would prohibit the body’scontact with the soil, instead it is buried in a grave shallow enoughto encourage and allow microbial activity similar to that found incomposting. In most cases a tree is planted instead of using aheadstone.
This process is in keeping with the ethics and ideals set in my project of a sustainable cemetery and eradicate the need to have expensive headstones and allow the body’s nutrients to return to the earth and the tree. Instead the grave will be marked simply with a copper tree tag.
