Are funerary spaces just places for cremation and conducting religious rites?
How has the notion of funerary architecture evolved?
Do they have any extended role to play?
Role of community in shaping the funerary landscape?
……………………………………….These are some of the questions this article seeks to explore
Brief History and Evolution
The process of human cremation is a 17,000-year-old practice that has been followed across regions, though initially, there have been speculations and opposition to cremating by various cultures. Gradually, the notion of hygiene and the spread of communicable diseases became a topic of concern with burying. The “Modern Cremation Movement” in 1873, propelled after Professor Brunetti displayed a new cremating chamber, led to the widespread practice of cremation in several parts of England, Europe and Germany. In India, it has been practised by the Hindus for ages using coal, wood and other flammable materials.
The design intent and need to construct funerary spaces have been different through time and regions. Some crematoriums were designed to serve as a regional icon of civic pride and to display the sophistication of their respective culture. Whereas the ones built in Britain occupied large parcels of land on a monumental scale, owing to the desires of the elites. In some cases, the affluent non-conformists demanded they be buried in unconsecrated sites, which paved the way for these dedicated funerary typologies.
Eventually, burial grounds began to be envisioned as dramatic landscaped parks blurring the boundaries between the two typologies. In the 19th century, Scottish botanist and designer John Claudius Loudon pioneered this technique and proposed the ‘‘Garden Cemetery’ Movement.
John Claudius Loudon_John Linnell
This concept remodelled burial grounds from being cramped churchyards with health concerns to gardens embodying beauty and reflection, in the form of landscaped parks with shrubs and water features.
“Churchyards and cemeteries are scenes not only calculated to improve the morals, the taste and, by their botanical richness, the intellect, but they also serve as historical records. A cemetery should combine the architectural grandeur of a city, the botanical richness of a garden, and the order of a scientific institution.”
– John Claudius Loudon
The Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris served as a model of inspiration for this movement. Later, the Mount Auburn Cemetery (1831) and Kensal Green Cemetery(1833) were designed according to this philosophy in the United States and England, respectively.
Until the crunch of space shortage hit, crematoriums continued to be designed on vast sites with splendid landscaped gardens to adorn them with a heavenly demeanour. Later, the Brion Vega cemetery by Carlo Scarpa, the Igualada Cemetery by Enric Miralles and the San Cataldo Cemetery by Aldo Rossi reimagined the funerary design with a poetic approach by using spatial metaphors and symbolic resonance to create an emotional experience. Though newer models have been adapted, in the earlier times and even now in certain regions, communities play a pivotal role in the funerary traditions and design of these infrastructures.
Community Involvement in Funerary Design
Traditional customs, ancestral practices and shared values have guided the design and management of funerary spaces by communities.
- Khasi and Jaintia Megalithic Burial Sites – Meghalaya
Community participation is an integral component of the burial tradition practised in the Khasi and Jaintia megaliths in Meghalaya. Community members from the maternal lineage of the deceased play a pivotal role in the ritual. Large slabs of stone are sourced and carried from quarries to the site by the local community and extended family members, reinforcing the social bond and honouring the ancestral linkage. Culturally, the burial site is seen to be a tangible embodiment of the communal history and becomes part of the shared memory.
- Toda Burial Practices – Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu)
The entire community of the Toda tribe are involved in the construction of a temporary thatched hut used for burial as per their funeral rites. The hut (pudu) is constructed as per the traditional Toda barrel vault form using bamboo, wood and grass. After the ceremony, the hut is dismantled or left to decay, depicting the temporal quality of life.
- Gond and Baiga Tribal Funeral Practices – Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh
The Gond and Boiga tribes erected memorial posts named ‘Vir Gaths’ or ‘Mahadeo Gond Stones’ as part of their funerary tradition. They were either painted or hand-carved to depict the hobbies and various events in the deceased person’s life and other spiritual symbols.
In most of these traditional community-driven funerary infrastructures, the architecture is minimal, blending with the ecological and cultural landscape of the community while emphasising the collective responsibility in honouring the ancestral memory.
Traditionally, funerals were seen as social acts of duty which strengthened mutual trust and fostered communal bonds. Over time, the process has been modernised and commoditised, leading to disengagement from such community-based social relationships.
Contemporary trend in funerary design: Case Studies
The design of funeral architecture in recent ages has slowly been reprogrammed from secluded spaces and tomb gardens to communal spaces for quiet gathering and mourning. In some cases, it has also been designed as an urban lung space or treated as an extended urban plaza, breaking the stereotype. These spaces are reimagined to give it a welcoming and comforting outlook, which can foster community participation.
The Udan Crematorium in Gujarat is designed by converting an underperforming crematorium into a vital public space for everyday use by the public. The sloppy terrain of the site has been used to create two levels: the upper level is treated as public space for community activities, and the lower level hosts the cremation courts.
With the idea of providing an inclusive civic amenity, the Government of Haryana, in collaboration with DLF, has proposed a culturally sensitive and sustainable crematorium in Gurugram. Out of the total 6 acres of site, 4 acres are planned as a green space-Smriti Van, among other programs.
The Dr.Vishnuvardhan Memorial Complex in Mysore, designed by M9 Design studio, seeks to modulate the memorial to also act as an inclusive community space, fostering social exchange and dialogue while honouring the memory of Dr.Vishnuvardhan.It is envisioned as a forum for social transformation, providing space for the locals to gather and discuss everyday civic issues.
The New Crematorium, designed by Mauro Crepaldi, is another example of treating cemeteries as an inclusive urban program. The new mortuary hub is located between Copparo’s historic centre and the cemetery, which was a neglected void pocket. The architect managed to transform the urban void into a green urban park for the community. It resulted in a crematorium that seamlessly merges with the surroundings and thrives as a catalyst for revamping the urban image of the space. The project was honoured with an Iron A’ Design Award in 2016 for its innovation and practicality.
Reflection
Cemeteries and crematoriums are not just archives of lost lives but also serve as representatives of the virtues and dignity offered to the deceased. They also subtly convey the morals of the community. From a cognitive perspective, funerals provide for emotional learning and conditioning while one is riveted by the process of facing and accepting the harsh reality. Ironically, the deceased person is not the protagonist of the funeral space but the living people who lead the procession and mourn the loss. Unknowingly, these funerary spaces also provide opportunities for silent introspection, invigorating the relationship with the inner psyche, leading to a multi-dimensional and transformative experience. Funerary architecture must reflect the depth of ‘LIFE’ even as it provides space to mourn ‘DEATH’. Thus, the design of such funerary spaces necessitates careful consideration to reflect the same.
Future Directions
In every culture, its prescribed idea of the afterlife dictates the design of its funerary structure. The form and program are framed based on the cultural and social demands of the region, making it difficult to conceive a secular space which could serve as a multi-cultural and universal funerary architectural grammar.
A fine example of such an approach is the Moksha crematorium in Goa, designed by Rahul Deshpande and Associates. This unique crematorium is designed to serve as a common community space shared by people of four different religions, namely the Hindus,Shia and Sunni Muslims and the Lingayats, for conducting their respective rituals. Recognising parallels and diversifying the program of funerary spaces would help pave the way for community-centric engagement.
“Cemeteries are important because they are ‘open to the inspection of all, and interesting to all’; they provide an ‘equalised’ space in terms of convenience and attraction and, at the same time, they promote ‘correct and elegant habits of thinking and acting.”
— John Claudius Loudon
(from Loudon’s seminal work, On the Laying Out, Planting, and Managing of Cemeteries, and on the Improvement of Churchyards, published in 1843)
In an era marked by rapid urbanisation and detachment from tradition, funerary architecture stands as a poignant reminder of our collective values. By blending cultural memory, community involvement, and thoughtful design, we can create spaces that help comfort the living while honouring the ones departed.
References:
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Journal
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