Abstract:
The death industry is often disregarded or forgotten by those preoccupied with living. It is an industry of discretion which carries the weight of the human condition. But death-care also carries responsibility, and because of the nature of symbolic associations we humans like to attach to death, we have forgotten to hold death accountable for its contribution to the climate crisis.
Concerns about the environmental impact of death underpin the motivation of this thesis, which concentrates specifically on the ecological relationship between death and the landscape. Discussions of kaitiakitanga (guardianship of the land) and practices of death-care examine how death may contribute to positive ecological outcomes and mitigate harmful environmental impacts.
Our relationship to death and the environment is addressed through a proposal for an ‘Aquamation’ facility on the Port Hills of Christchurch, New Zealand. Aquamation – a sensitive process in which bodies are converted into water – allows us to observe death and body disposition as an ecological activity that can rehabilitate native vegetation. Sustained by a nutrient-rich effluent water created through the process of Aquamation, the flora of the Port Hills may be regenerated over time as an ecological monument reminiscent of the pre-human environment; a beautiful, poetic and natural means for the disposal of mortal remains.
The project suggests that architecture is important to facilitate emotional rituals around death and can be used as a catalyst to provoke cathartic, introspective contemplation. The proposal for an ‘Aquatorium’ introduces a new model for death-care infrastructure, informed by the life-death cycle of nature. It seeks to represent the importance of the individual to the whole whilst also questioning if we are prepared to adapt one of the most emotionally significant human moments to conserve the natural world.