"Private developers in Tokyo have used temples as covers to build cemetery plots which they can sell for ten times the price of land without taxes. This practice results in the unwanted placement of cemeteries adjacent to homes in the already densely populated neighborhoods of Tokyo. Amplifying this issue are the ever-changing demographics of Tokyo. Recent studies show that the city's average age is rapidly increasing, with nearly twenty-five percent of the population being 65 or older and a large majority over the age of 30. Similarly, more and more rural residents are coming into Tokyo, increasing the overall population. As the age and population increase, Tokyo is being forced to face the issue of burial space."

(from the competition intro)

Concept:

Visiting a graveyard one is exposed to weather: rain, wind and snow. That should remain so being in the cemetery house. Rain keeps falling down through the roof and through the whole building from the top to the ground. Mitigated only by glass plates, which are put in, as soon as urn slots are engaged, serve as hardly visible protection against the weather. Everyone who can imagine to set up a cemetery between red light district, railway station and financial district, also might want to ensure that the urns stay present for everyone to see and remain suspended to climate. Built on a massive, inaccessible base the cemetery house contains also an empty floor for walks and finally (at the top) a space of silence for ceremonies.

Death and the City - Tokyo vertical cemetery Entwurf : 2016 Ausführung : -- Berater : Tobias Sandberger Bauherr : archoutloud