cremetorial places

I’m not sure how relevant this would be if you want to focus on Eastern traditions, but even a comparison between Eastern and Western might make a thesis proposal (ie. a quest for how emerging and future are adapting). Just Google columbarium and you’ll get information on contemporary solutions being built for ashes vs. the typical ground cemetery. Some of the walls are interior to structures, but many become the features of what (in Jewish and Christian congregations) are being called church prayer, memory and reflection gardens. Also thru Google sometimes you get the “policies” stated – like how to apply, how a committee in charge operates. etc. even if they don’t show you a photo of the garden.

I got interested in the general topic of church gardens several years ago and took photos all over my region (not the whole state though) and made a website to show the photos. I had intended to sketch plans to attach to them but it got overwhelming. Anyway, quite a few have or feature columbariums if you dig through the “gallery” of shots….and of course I couldn’t resist giving some of my general LA opinions in a little text near the top opening to the photos.

www.mindspring.com/~lesmuskey8/PCGardens/PCGcover.html

I’m not sure we have “crematorial grounds” other than in-grade placement of plaques for the deceased (some areas of those also show up in the gardens). Do you mean the crematorium site itself? I think that is usually remote from the burial or memorial walls -and by the way the columbaria (better plural spelling) can be in secular cemeteries as well as church grounds, at least in the U.S. (The funeral home does the actual cremation and gives the ashes to the relatives to handle in some way). So you would be looking at either another society for comparison or else how to landscape the funeral home 🙂  And of course some people just keep the ash urn on a shelf inside their house, or scatter the ashes. But even in the latter case, there is some chance they would want a “place” to contemplate in. Sorry if I misunderstood the question.

I was wowed by this when I first saw it…think it was when I was in school: http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Brion-Vega_Cemetery.html

Not a crematorial place, but I love the way it integrates the landscape.

Did you look up Swedish architect Gunnar Asplundh?  He did a famous crematorium.

http://www.mimoa.eu/projects/Sweden/Stockholm/Woodland%20Cemetery%20Skogskyrkog%E5rden

I think you should also do a bit about the excarnation towers that the Zoroastrians use for the natural process put into service.  Carrion birds pick clean the corpses, then they remove the bones.  Then there is the growing interest in natural burials that allow the body to decay more quickly and “return to the earth”.  Might be interesting, for your introductory part, to discuss various processes and rituals for…how to put it delicately…end of life resolution?

P.S. don’t foget to take your Prozac if getting deep into this research!

As I was thinking more about this and how the “process” and the “memorialization” are completely split in the developed world, I doubt it is altogether culture and religion, although burials are more accepted than the dead exposed to birds on towers… One side of it is the issue of familiarity to the European west (I think even the waiting for awhile and re-placing bones into a box practiced by ancient Jews is not done any longer). But the added factor operating to prevent open cremations could be clean air or even general pollution standards. I know that in a city government where I worked, people in charge of the watershed were very concerned about some report of ashes being scattered on one of their lakes (even though I presume fishermen could throw back fish).

This might be where I read about it: http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/search?q=zoroastrian

It was a while ago.  Somewhere I found an illustration of the interior of one of these towers, with bodies laid out for the vultures.  Do a search for “Zoroastrian Burial Practices” and you’ll find a lot.