Globally , nearly57 millionpeople died in 2016 . If you fall out to be a burying ground caretaker , you might be wondering where we managed to put them all . Indeed , many cemeteries in the humankind ’s major cities are filling up fast , with no choice leave but to tear up walkways , tree diagram , and fleeceable spaces just to make room for more graves .
In answer to these concern , a diverseness of visionaries have assay to reimagine the New cemetery . These plan be given to descend into one of two camp : life scientist and environmentalists have brainstormed alternate methods for disposing of bodies , some of which are tell to be better for the planet than the traditional method of burial and cremation . Meanwhile , architects have looked at ways of adapting the burial space itself , whether that stand for spay a traditional necropolis or create something raw and more ephemeral . Here are just a few of the creative ideas that have emerge in late years .
1. VERTICAL CEMETERIES
As necropolis protrude running out of ground to dig , it was only a subject of time before they started building up . There ’s been a peck of lecture aboutskyscraper cemeteriesin late years , although the idea dates back to at least 1829 , when British architect Thomas Willsonproposeda 94 - story mausoleum in London .
" The vertical graveyard , with its open front , will become a pregnant part of the metropolis and a everyday admonisher of death ’s existence,“saysMartin McSherry , whosedesignfor an open - air skyscraper necropolis with layers of park - like inhumation grounds was one of the marriage proposal presented at the Oslo Conference for Nordic Cemeteries and Graveyards in 2013 . Another recentplanby architecture students in Sweden evoke repurposing a cluster of silo into a vertical cinerarium ( a place to store urns ) . Brazil ’s Memorial Necrópole Ecumênica was one of the first place to follow up this upright construct back in 1984 , and at32 stories richly , it presently give the Guinness World Record for thetallest necropolis .
2. REUSABLE GRAVES
For much of human chronicle , grave were often reused , or uncouth graves were dug deep enough to oblige multiple bodies stacked one on top of the other . “ Our current cemetery design is actually a pretty raw thing , ” Allison Meier , a New York City cemetery tour template ( andMental Flosswriter ) , tells us . “ It was n’t normal for everyone to get a gravestone in the past and we did n’t have these big sprawling green spaces . ”
Now that many urban memorial park are filling up , the idea of reprocess plots is once again gaining popularity . In London , it ’s judge that onlyone - thirdof the city ’s boroughs will have inhumation space by 2031 . In reply , the City of London Cemetery — one of the biggest necropolis in Britain — has startedreusingcertain grievous patch ( the practice is legal in the metropolis , even though sedate reuse is outlawed elsewhere in England ) .
Across continental Europe , however , it ’s not rare for Graf to be " rented " rather than purchase for all eternity . In countries like the Netherlands , Germany , Belgium , and Greece , families can hold a plot for their loved one as long as they continue to pay a rental fee . If they stop ante up , the grave may be reuse , with the previous clay either swallow up deeply or relocate to a common grave .
Meier says she is n’t cognizant of any cemeteries in New York City that have started reusing their plots , though . “ That ’s a tough thing for Americans to get on board with because it ’s been a normal practice in a lot of places , but it ’s never been normal here , ” she say .
3. A FLOATING COLUMBARIUM
Ninety percent of bodies in Hong Kong are cremated , according toCNN , and niches in the metropolis ’s public columbaria are at a agiotage . The average postponement for a outer space is aboutfour years , sparking concern that Hong Kongers could be forced to move their love one ' ash across the border tomainland China , where more quad is available . ( A blank at a individual columbarium in Hong Kong can be prohibitively expensive , at a price of about $ 128,000 . ) To address this proceeds , aproposalemerged in 2012 to commute a cruise ship into a floating dovecote dub the “ Floating timelessness . ” Designed by Hong Kong and London - based architecture firmBREAD Studio , the columbarium would be able to reconcile the ash of 370,000 people . Although it ’s still just an mind , BREAD Studio fashion designer Benny Lee tellsCNN , " A float burial site is the next innate step in Hong Kong ’s history of graveyards . "
4. UNDERWATER MEMORIALS
Land may be bound , but the ocean is immense — and several companies want to take the cemetery concept underwater . AtNeptune Memorial Reefoff the slide of Key Biscayne , Florida , human ash are mixed with cement to create unequalled memorial in the shape of seashell and other object of the client ’s choice . The memorials are then taken by divers to the sea floor and incorporated into a homo - made reef designed to look like the Lost City of Atlantis . Eternal Reefs , based out of Sarasota , Florida , offers a alike service .
5. SPACE MEMORIALS
Not a water person ? Try outer space instead . Elysium Space , a San Francisco - based troupe founded by a formersoftware engineerat NASA , declare oneself a couple of “ celestial religious service . ” At a cost of nearly $ 2500 , the Shooting Star Memorial “ delivers a emblematic portion of your do it one ’s remains to Earth ’s electron orbit , only to terminate this celestial journey as a shooting mavin , ” while the Lunar Memorial will deliver a " symbolical portion " of human remains to the surface of the moon for a fee of nearly $ 10,000 . Another companionship , Celestis , offer standardized service ranging in price from $ 1300 to $ 12,500 .
6. HUMAN COMPOSTING
critic of burial and cremation sayboth are badfor the environment . To address the need for a memorial method that does n’t emit carbon dioxide , waste resources , or liberate carcinogenic embalm fluid into the soil , a number ofeco - well-disposed optionshave emerged . One such excogitation is the “ mushroom cloud burial courting , " a head - to - toe rig that ’s describe with mushroom spores design to go through human tissue and take over the physical structure ’s toxin . Another company , Recompose , espouses human composting — a operation by which a remains would be converted into a cubic yard of ground , which could then be used to nurture new aliveness in a garden . The procedure is n’t effectual yet , but the society plans to work with the Washington State legislature to make it available to the worldwide populace before eventually roll it out nationwide .
7. DEATH AS ART
Many innovative proposals have emerged from theDeathLABat Columbia University , including aplanto convert human biomass ( constituent subject ) into light . The design — a configuration of brightness level that would function as both a memorial and art installation — won a competition hosted byFuture Cemetery , a collaborationism between the University of Bath ’s Centre for Death & Society and media ship’s company Calling the Shots . John Troyer , music director of the UK - found centre of attention , says they ’re working on raising funds to instal a concept piece based on that invention at Arnos Vale Cemetery in Bristol , England , but any usage of actual biomass would have to be cleared through the proper regulative channel first . According to DeathLAB , the project would save significant space — within six years , it would more than double the capability of the burying ground orchard where the commemoration would be put in .
8. VIRTUAL CEMETERIES
However , Troyer say he does n’t believe engineering science will ever arrogate the need for physical spaces . “ A lot of the companies sing about digital solutions talk about ‘ forever’—and that ’s very complicated with the internet , because the virtual material we make can easily disappear , " he tell theThe Guardian . " The humble headstone has been a very successful human technology , and I suspect it will last … I would go with granite . ”
