An Urn for Cremation Burials in Water

Photo credit: Designboom

We at SevenPonds have been bookmarking many of Designboom’s “Design for Death” inventions. The competition featured 2,050 designers from nearly 100 countries, each with unique designs for coffins and cremation vessels. Hungary’s Agnes Hegedus was a standout in the “Wrapping of Mortality” category, which called for an integration of eco-friendly elements and the designer’s creation. Her design, entitled “Urn for Memorial Ceremony on Water,” is rooted in Hegedus’s desire to create an urn that’s tied to a serene ceremony with an ancient air: a cremation burial. “[They] were the usual [practice in] cultures for thousands of years,” says Hegedus, “[and] in the 21st century the number of buried cremation[s] is increasing.”

Photo credit: Designboom

“[They] were the usual [practice in] cultures for thousands of years,” says Hegedus, “[and] in the 21st century the number of buried cremation[s] is increasing.”

–Agnes Hegedus on cremation burials

The urn itself is made from various clays and other natural, or recycled materials. It’s a low-cost option, she says – and one that also keeps the planet’s best interests in mind by excluding all synthetic materials. “I combined several types of clay and natural or recycled materials, [then] I pressed this material in plaster [of] negative forms,” she explains the urn-making process; “With a little bit [of] water I can glue the parts together with its own material, so I don’t use any synthetic ingredients.”

Photo credit: www.gizmodo.com.au

It’s a low cost option, she says – and one that also keeps the planet’s best interests in mind by excluding all synthetic materials.

To begin the cremation burial Hegedus has designed around her urn, a family must first decide on a large, calm body of water in which it is safe (and legal) to sink their loved one’s vessel. The urn’s design is rather stately, embellished only with the warm glow of a candle placed in its center. Once placed on the water’s surface, the urn will gradually sink (an intended side-effect Hegedus’s choice of materials), giving a loved one a tranquil, loving departure to what Hegedus calls, a “watery resting place.”

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