Transformation of the ‘Haus der Statistik’ into a green vertical graveyard, a place to celebrate life.
The ‘House of Roots’ gives you a feeling of peace and freedom. It is a place to remember your beloved ones and to value the beauty of life. The connection to nature is regrowing and the human body is committed to the circle of life again.
The building is transformed in 3 steps:
- Opening up the first floor, leaving only the structural columns to support the building; room for a green and vivid park is created.
- Changing the inner part of the building into a form of an ‘Atrium’. Therefore, a second facade is built; it can be used in addition to the outer facade.
- Using the existing ornamental elements on the outer facade, making small changes and multiply these elements for the entire inner and outer facades. These boxes are used for the ‘green graves’.
The new process of Cryomation turns the dead body into a granular mass of 20 kg of sterile soil. It builds a perfect nuritrition soil and is used as a fertilizer for the chosen plant that grows on the ‘green grave’.
There are two kinds of plantations:
- The ‘green grave’: plants which will grow inside the boxes. They represent the beloved person who has deceased. The type of plant is chosen by the deceased person’s family.
- The ‘candle plant’: in front of the boxes inside the building, you can find a place to plant a seedling. The idea is based on the church’s spiritual significance of candles. The plants can be bought in a special part of the building.
The plant’s harvest is collected by the people who come to visit the ‘House of Roots’.
The system is built on trust.
Darja Studer, Anastasiia Baranova, Shir Loewenstein, Mario Wurm