PROJECT STATEMENT
In death, we become substance; carbon, nitrogen, substance of the land. This cemetery returns that substance to the land. Disposition practices that re-integrate body and bone into biogeochemical cycles amplify regrowth and regeneration following a devastating wildfire in the Bastrop Lost Pines ecoregion of Texas.
This of view death and disposition situates itself within a growing movement away from unsustainable burial practices and towards the cemetery as ex-urban green infrastructure for the Texas Triangle megaregion.
PROJECT NARRATIVE
In death, we become substance; carbon, nitrogen, substance of the land. This cemetery returns that substance to the land. Disposition practices that re-integrate body and bone into biogeochemical cycles amplify regrowth and regeneration following a devastating wildfire in the Bastrop Lost Pines ecoregion of Texas.
The process of returning bodies to the land marks the land, and in doing so shapes places for the living. MARKINGS are strong field conditions that fulfill the traditional role of “marker” in burial practice. Atmosphere is privileged over artifice as a means by which the dead are marked. Dam, Mound, Furrow, Embed, Scatter: each a process and a pattern by which the dead make this forest a place. Each a ceremony, and a forest management practice during which this forest becomes a place. This cemetery is about how a unique set of processes ties to place.
Built from commonalities between forest management, technical requirements for disposition, and burial ceremony, the distribution and phased implementation of Markings addresses these three systems simultaneously. Natural burial practices associate with reforestation practices such as contour felling to stabilize slopes and provide an experience that is understood as part of healing and regeneration. Gridded mounds express earth that has been displaced by the interred and capitalize on the body’s substantial nutrients in order to regrow young Loblolly pines. Channels collect and hold water on site for burial associated with an on-site nursery. Scatter fields move and rotate alongside rotating controlled burn practices. Paths reinforce and structure experience. This forest moves and grows alongside its burial practices.
This of view death and disposition situates itself within a growing movement away from unsustainable burial practices and towards the cemetery as ex-urban green infrastructure for the Texas Triangle megaregion. Markings is about marking with place, and the character of a biophysical landscape amplified by the dead.
"Refreshing because it has cultural content, it has meaning, which it really tackles in a strong way. Compelling and timely. Really lovely thought was put into this."
- 2014 Awards Jury