The Death of Human and The Birth of Architecture

This project delves into the concepts of "human decay" and “architectural decay.”. We conclude that while we are alive, we consume energy and resources, but when we die, we release the energy and resources back to the environment. On the other hand, architecture requires the use of energy and resources, and in Cumbria, where our territory of research is, extracting natural resources has been a large industry since the beginning, making it unsustainable for the future.Our thesis concept revolves around how we can genuinely close the loop process of decay or released energy from human death in infrastructure form so that all of the energy and resources may be repurposed.

Design Statement

This involves designing new systems that can handle the physical and intangible aspects of death, such as human remains, funeral services, and grief management, in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Experience for the end users to be involved in the journey to their death in a completely different way from the norm.Where they can spend their final days of living with their closed ones and doing what they love and living. around people that share the same fate as them sharing knowledge, contemplating and maybe appreciating more on their life before they die.And reside within the disintegrating state of building enveloping their final days when they will soon fade away.

The masterplan consists of five main complexes that resemble the journey of human dying. First the hospice retreat, the contemplation temple,ritual castle, procession, catacomb and finally cyclic farm.

Checkpoint 00 : Procession Line (Welcome)

Pilgrimage towards the death.

Checkpoint 01: The Contemplation Temple

Self Reflecting & Meditation

The Retreat complex provides comfortable and private living spaces for residents, with individual villas arranged around a central courtyard. We employ the concept and metaphorical standpoint of allowing the natural states of materials within the tectonics to degrade, where the materials are a type of storage that may hold memory of people living in it and evolve over time. The material decline likewise signifies the patient's (user's) life, which degrades through time and eventually comes to an end. We designate the Palliative Retreat to be Climatic Responsive to the site, as the site is prone to flooding along the year, we built and raised the retreat unit on stilts to prevent any damage and securing the occupants during flooding season.

The Ritual Complex: Designed as a serene and spiritual space, it accommodates various religious practices and provides a peaceful environment for reflection and connection with spirituality. The design incorporates natural light and views of the surrounding landscape.This space serves as a venue for funeral services and ceremonies that can accommodate diverse religious and cultural needs. It offers areas for contemplation, reflection, mourning, and socializing. Elements of nature and natural materials create a comforting and tranquil atmosphere.The Ritual Complex: Designed as a serene and spiritual space, it accommodates various religious practices and provides a peaceful environment for reflection and connection with spirituality. The design incorporates natural light and views of the surrounding landscape.This space serves as a venue for funeral services and ceremonies that can accommodate diverse religious and cultural needs. It offers areas for contemplation, reflection, mourning, and socializing. Elements of nature and natural materials create a comforting and tranquil atmosphere.

Checkpoint 04: Funeral Space

Transitional Border

We aim to develop a systematic approach that harnesses the resources and energy generated from post-palliative care (death) and waste management while simultaneously exploring an alternative where these resources and energy form the foundation of a new architectural dimension within the Cumbria region, specifically in Penrith. Through this process, we seek to create innovative building materials and expand the possibilities of constructing structures.

We constructed a model to help us further understand and test the spatial qualities of our design. The model was intended to be interactive, allowing us to explore and test out demonstrations of sustainability in burial and funeral practices on a large scale.

The InfraStructure farm is a crucial component of the project, focusing on achieving sustainability within the overall system. This complex includes facilities for renewable energy production (anaerobic digestion) that we obtain from the food waste and manure collection from around the site and recycling it for the heating and ventilation system that's crucial for palliative care patients, waste management (food waste, manure etc), and water treatment, promoting an environmentally friendly and self-sustaining system.