Dead end for design

At first glance the death industry may appear to be distant from the concerns of design and the eye of the general public, but on closer inspection the complexities of these essential services present an opportunity to consider the social and material implications of the funeral. We are unlikely to consider the disposal stage of the body until it becomes necessary, but it is an essential part of the human lifecycle. The treatment of bodies following cremation presents an important issue for Ahmedabad authorities, residents of the city and over 1200 villages across the state, both in terms of safe disposal of ash and sensitive orchestration of ceremonies. Customs for each of the major religions in India vary. Muslim believe in burial, whilst the bodies of Hindu, Jain and Seikhs are cremated. Cremation practices also vary, the handling of body & body ashes being treated differently according to both religious belief and the method of cremation.Traditional funeral pyres consume up to 600kg of wood fuel in the burning of a single body, where the ash of the bodies become mixed with that of timber. Remaining ash, either untouched according to belief or excess to the needs of family members becomes both a disposal problem and a potential resource. Government initiatives promote the use of electric cremation ovens as they are both more efficient and result in less disposable ash. The electric cremation facility at Sabarmati is uncomfortably industrial in character. Preparation of the body occurs adjacent to the oven door. Distinguished locations to mourn, to bathe, or garden for families to gather are absent, the sense of personal or ceremonial aesthetic more comfortably associated with the loss of a loved family member negated. Despite subsidies offered for electric furnace cremations, many families choose the traditional open pyre, offering more personal engagement and accessibility to the symbolism of devout spiritual practice. What role has design in rethinking the relationship between sensitivity and efficacy of the funeral ?