Columbarium

The proposal provides spaces for the living to memorialize the dying while they are still alive; allowing both parties to have a deeper understanding of the transition through non-religious practices of cherishing, mourning and remembering the person’s life. The dying have the ultimate freedom to choose where they die, as the event will be their last experience.

The ossuary (which is by definition the final resting place) is where the person will eternally be remembered, by a set of handprints embedded in concrete. The handprints are taken as the dying enter the building, representing that the person has begun the transition. The ossuary can hold 10,000 sets of prints and will take about 200 years to fill. It is not a conditioned space, since it is intended to last forever and no one will need to take care of it in the future.