Order member Barbara Chung recently completed her design thesis on the architecture of funeral homes and the sensory experience. For Chung, the design and architecture of a place of death is not just a visual experience, but “should also generate emotions and trigger the human senses.” Her project extends from the cleaning of the dead body to the cremation, with the Mortuary Bath House being the main focus.
A poem and renderings from her thesis, The Anamnesis of Being, are below.
I am here and yet, I am not. Scenes flicker before my eyes. A restless mind. I wander about. Cold concrete floors. I glance over. Her face is calm. My canvas. Red lips and a tinted glow. The rush of city traffic embalms the air. The outside world. I am unable to hold my gaze. Blink. I paint her lips and picture a smile. A lifetime. Time. Where did the time go? Light bounces off the solid walls. Reflections of the sun. Light. Breathe… She is here and yet, she is not… bbc.
