Project Womb

Credit: Project Womb

“After birth, the second biggest event in life is death. And, yet, across cultures, our relationship with it seems based on avoidance and denial. We asked ourselves, ‘why isn’t death treated as naturally and gracefully as birth?’” These were the concerns of the “Project Womb” designer known as “Diddo” whose brazen work has been commissioned by the likes of Lady Gaga. He said there wasn’t much on the market encouraging a positive, full-circle perception on death and dying in terms of coffin selection. “Why isn’t it treated as naturally and gracefully as birth?” he explained, “[and]
 why can’t we redesign its rituals
 to reveal, rather than conceal, who we really are?”

Credit: Project Womb

Many see death as a terminus rather than a continuation. Before we die, we hesitate to imagine ourselves beginning a new part of the life cycle – we struggle to accept that the dying process can be an event that is just as active and positive as the beginning years of our life.

Credit: Project Womb

Hence, the “womb” concept behind Diddo’s coffin: he wants us to see death as the ultimate return to the earth. Life and Death are bookends, so why not try to create a coffin that is conscious of that reality? We are accustomed to the tradition of being buried in a rectangular coffin, as it’s been a cultural norm for so long. But wouldn’t it make more sense to make our final resting state a mirror image of the posture in which we’re born? Diddo’s coffin creates this space of comfort for the human body.

At first glance, the Project Womb coffin evokes something with an air of science fiction. But after understanding the philosophy behind Diddo’s design, it seems like the most natural fit in the world.

Credit: Project Womb

Then there’s the technological element to his design, a nod to the fact that “the only true legacy anybody leaves behind is the story of 
his or her life.” Diddo realized that “usually, the telling of [our] story is left to friends and family at the mercy of media. 
That’s a lot of different versions of our life story. And we don’t have 
a say in any one of them.” So, in order to combat the reality of the messy postmortem digital trail, he created a tablet that accompanies the Project Womb coffin. Essentially, one updates the tablet with photos, thoughts, etc. that will be accessible to family only upon the owner’s death.

Project Womb isn’t afraid to combine the technology that is so relevant to our daily life with the process of our end of life. Yet, at the same time, Diddo’s design is the ultimate homage to a simple, positive dying experience.

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