Graveyard

Watch any Hollywood movie involving the funeral of a beloved character, and one thing is obvious- there are plenty of graves in that graveyard. If it’s a typical action movie, one might even think the protagonist is responsible for several of those graves. Popular video game franchises are no stranger to graveyards either.

See what I mean??

On a more realistic note, when it comes to town planning, cemeteries receive very little attention. Just take a look at all the upcoming “Smart City” videos, with fancy residential buildings, office spaces, clubhouses, and fountains, but there is no mention of a cemetery. Most families prefer to bury their dead within urban areas, close to their place of residence, for reasons of sentiment and ease of access. As inner neighborhoods become denser, encroachment by real estate developers and psychological repulsion by offices and residencies to the thought of having a graveyard nearby, ensures that they are pushed outward to the urban periphery. This significantly reduces a family’s access to its departed ones and increases city traffic, costing money and time.

Metropolises across the world are trying to deal with this increasingly grave situation in their own way. However, to come to any sort of conclusion or conduct a fair assessment of potential solutions which may or may not be acceptable to all communities, we must first examine their existing practices and traditions when it comes to funerals.

Funeral Practices

This section explores the funerary customs followed by various cultures and religious groups. Depending on the culture and religion, these customs can involve either the destruction of the body (for example, by cremation or sky burial) or its preservation (for example, by burials or mummification). Additionally, we also explore newer alternatives to traditional methods of disposing corpses which have come up in recently.

Cremation is expressly forbidden in Islam; adherents believe that the dead must be given equal respect as those who are still alive. Mortal remains are first washed, then covered with a white fabric, prayed for and then buried in a way that the face of the corpse is turned towards Mecca.

In most forms of Judaism, Eastern Orthodox Catholicism and Roman Catholicism, cremation is generally objected to as it interferes with their concept of resurrection. Many non-religious and people belonging to other religions also prefer their bodies to be buried at times. Within India, almost 20% of all deceased, including those from the Scheduled Tribes, are buried. Among Hindus, known for their cremation rituals, burial is practiced for certain sects, diseased individuals and children.

The high cost of burial services is making cremation an increasingly popular option in the United States of America. Ashes are collected, transferred into an urn and then often handed back to the deceased’s loved ones. However, a majority of people are likely to opt for burials, if they could afford it. Meanwhile in Buddhism, the option to be cremated or buried is up to the individual or family. But in regions having an acute problem of land scarcity, spacious or defunct cemeteries are regarded as unnecessary.

New Practices

Alkaline hydrolysis (also known as resomation) is a process in which the dead body is put in a chamber filled with water and lye and heated up to a temperature of 160° Celsius to break down organic tissues in a process similar to natural decomposition. The resulting skeleton is powdered and the ashes are given back to the next of kin. The whole process takes a few hours and results in a tenth of the carbon footprint compared to cremation, but is expensive and requires special equipment to operate.

Promession involves freezing the corpse with liquid nitrogen to -196° Celsius to crystallize tissue cells, rapidly vibrating the body, freeze drying the resulting particles to end up with a lightweight dust, which is then given back to the client. This concept, though theoretically feasible, has not become technically or economically feasible thus far and has not been turned into a business.

There are also methods to turn ashes into fireworks or reefs. Space burial – launching of samples of cremated remains into space. Composting is currently legal only in Washington, USA.

Economics of Death

Today, burying someone at the Qabristan costs an average of Rs 5,000. At some Christian cemeteries, a ‘kaccha’ (earthen) burial costs around Rs 10,000 on average. However, due to very high demand, money is passed under the table to book a spot. In many graveyards, the issue of garbage and stray dogs also exists. The cost to transport bodies ranges from Rs. 2000 – Rs. 5000.

In recent times, cremation rates in America have surpassed burials. A large part of the reason behind this increase isn’t space, but price. Due to the combined costs of plot, casket, headstone, and more, the average burial in the US costs about between $7,000 and $10,000, whereas cremation through a funeral home is roughly between $2,000 and $4,000, and a cremation through a crematory between $1,500 and $3,000.

If you thought that wasn’t bad enough, due to the lack of land, some people end up paying a one-time fee to book a plot. The cemetery owner cannot re-sell the plot or move the body to make way for new paying customers. Prices skyrocket as space continues to diminish

This situation certainly opens up the possibility in the future for an urban burial space to only be for those of affluent means, and for trading of burial plots wherein those who had purchased a grave site at an earlier date are tempted to sell it late for more.

Existing Vertical Graveyards

Ideation

Proposed Concept

Concept 1: The concept aims to make the best use of land resources by stacking dead bodies under one another. The landscape design of the ground level has been thoughtfully crafted to ensure the placement and construction of such vertical cemeteries next to densely populated inner-city neighborhoods will not be controversial. The surface level can be left unmarked by headstones, and be developed into a park offering a beautiful, quiet place to socialize, relax or meditate. With the inclusion of various landscaping elements such as trees, lawns, fountains, artwork and benches, such places can be turned into important public landmarks. The ground level may also have a funeral hall for private goodbyes, eulogies, prayers, requiem mass, guest reception, refreshments and for when nature calls.

Concept 2: Mechanized vertical graveyard, appropriate for families wanting to stay together in the afterlife. Slightly expensive, but that never stopped the Egyptians from building great pyramids.

Conclusion

In recent times, cremation is becoming the preferred method for many citizens of Western nations, partly due to environmental concerns, but mostly due to rising costs of burials. As cities continue to expand and populations rise, there is an urgent need to think of innovative ways to dispose of dead bodies. Although new techniques are coming up in Western countries, they may not become the preferred option for most people (especially in developing nations) due to concerns regarding faith, cost, and propriety.

One of the most challenging aspects of applying the concept of ‘stacking’ or ‘depth’ when it comes to graveyards is the requirement to fulfill socio-cultural and religious beliefs. The intervention described in this project allows the deceased to be buried within the Earth using soil. Achieving higher densities of dead bodies in the form of multi-level graveyards could be a cost-effective and more sustainable solution for today’s rapidly growing cities, while still being respectful of people’s religious beliefs. Our proposed solution could be considered as one of the many ways to deal with the issue of land scarcity, and rising burial costs.