Project Description
The project speculates upon the future of funerary ceremonies in China; argueing for new processes, and for a sustainable life and death. The site is located in the abandoned village of Wangzhai, along the mountainous city edge of Wenzhou. The proposal connects an area of three distinct characters, conserving and valuing the identity of each; the village, the fields, and the mountain. In the first site, the proposal reimagines the abandoned village as a place of memorial with a columbarium occupying abandoned buildings, and alongside a careful reintegration of new commercial programme. On the side of the mountain, the project provides the infrastructure for resomation, as well as funeral spaces inspired by themes of morality, temporality, and ecology. The funeral spaces of the mountain and the memorial spaces of the village columbarium are linked by a winding promenade; transitioning through courtyards and landscape and forming places for gatherings.