Open Collections

Stokes, Laureen

Contemporary methods of body disposition in British Columbia are harmful to the environment and to workers working in the industry. Regulations and limited choices for how to handle our dead restrict the ability of the bereaved to participate in healing activities and to tend their dead. With the legalization of natural organic reduction (also known as human composting) in other jurisdictions, there is an opportunity to rethink how we tend our dead. Specifically, natural organic reduction (NOR) introduces a new metaphor of life-to-life, where the remains of our dead can be used to nourish the land. To better understand the needs of the bereaved and death care approaches globally, current theories of grieving were reviewed, other forms of death care were explored, spaces of memorialization were evaluated, and site visits and interviews were held with professionals providing NOR. A detailed study of the proposed site led to an exploration of alluvial tidal marshes and landscapes. The proposed design cares for the land, river, community, and bereaved. The building and landscape surrounds those feeling the pain of loss with the hope of life.

Vancouver (B.C.)

Text

University of British Columbia. ARCH 549

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0432057

Applied Science, Faculty of; Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of

Unreviewed

Laureen Stokes

DSpace