Circulation of Life | FuturArc Prize 2024 Merit

In addressing the Endings scenario, the entry presents an idea that revolves around the theme of the cycle of life—it proposes a burial solution with an architectural scheme for a site located in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

The city’s over-1,000-year history has brought with it the effects of population expansion, environmental pollution and other urban issues that the people are still grappling with today. Among them, the shortage of burial services, which the entrant team attributed to a scarcity of land resources for the purpose of traditional earth burials. As such, cremation, they observed, has become a more prevalent alternative. However, it carries with it risks of air pollution. An average adult’s remains releases carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to a car travelling over 900 kilometres. In fact, the team stated that Hanoi is currently the most air-polluted city in the country. Efforts to address the smoke emissions have remained generally insignificant. Although the city has planned seven large centralised cemeteries in suburban locations with expansion plans, the team postulated that with an expanding population, they could easily and quickly become overloaded every 10 years.

Thus, the Circulation of Life entry seeks to go back to tradition that is ‘updated’ by modern techniques—one that not only aims to transform perceptions surrounding burial practices, but also contributes to creating green spaces and enhancing the quality of life for the community.

The concept of ‘tree burial’ lies at the heart of the solution. It aims to overcome the limited space issue of earth burial and air pollution problem of cremation. With careful planning using natural organic reduction (NOR, also known as ‘human composting’) and modern methods of water and energy ‘resourcing’, this approach could aid in growing new greenery and green spaces, which could then help ‘clean up’ the air. In this way, dead matter could return to Earth, harmonising with Nature and its cycle of life.

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PROJECT DATA

Scenario
Endings

Location
Thuong Dinh Industrial Park

Country
Vietnam

City
Hanoi

Site Area
Approx. 50,000 square metres

FUTURARC PRIZE 2024: MERIT

Nguyen Thanh Tan, Ho Nghiem Thuy Quynh, Le Xuan Vinh Khang and Pham Nguyen Hung are senior students majoring in Architecture at the University of Science and Technology, University of Da Nang. They are deeply passionate about architecture and urban design, particularly in the context of cultural heritage and spirituality. This type of architecture holds immense spiritual value and possesses boundless potential for development. When approached thoughtfully and respectfully, it can create spaces of profound significance for society, fostering deep connections to place, preserving cultural traditions and enhancing spiritual well-being. They are committed to conveying the essence of their architectural approach to a wider audience, highlighting its ability to enrich lives and strengthening communities.

Related: A proof of concept for ‘human composting’

A proof of concept for ‘human composting’

What is the most sustainable and respectable way to handle dead matter? Compared to cremation (which requires large amounts of fuel, hence releasing massive amounts of carbon as well as toxic pollutants like mercury1), land burial—where non-embalmed bodies naturally decompose over the years—is considered to have a lower impact on the environment,2 although it requires expanses of land that are increasingly scarce in dense urban settings. But what if a new typology of funerary architecture can be developed to hasten decomposition in a way that emits less carbon, requires less land and results in readily reusable organic matter at the […]

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