Redesigned Funeral Spaces Offer New Ways to Say Goodbye

The funeral ceremony is getting a modern redesign from Hofman Dujardin.
Credit: worldarchitecture.org

The funeral experience is deeply personal and emotionally fraught. And for Hofman Dujardin, it’s time that our funeral spaces reflected that. Inspired by personal experiences, the founders of the Amsterdam-based design firm created a beautiful and elegant funeral space in 2018, aimed at provoking social interactions and reflection.

“The lack of places for worthy send-offs results in unease feelings during crucial moments in our lives …. we designed a Funeral Centre which tries to break this discomfort. The design combines timeless qualities with elements of our modern ways of life,” Michiel Hofman, one of the founding partners of Hofman Dujardin, said.

The Center treats the coffin as the focal point, with the three rooms each serving a separate purpose. Adapted for a more modern experience, the first room has guests enclosed by a “memory wall” playing clips and images of the deceased on a loop. Enveloping the group in memories lays the backdrop against the low murmurs and condolences of the initial gathering.

The coffin is the focal point of the Hofman Dujardin Funeral Center, drawing attendees inward to a central hallway.
Credit: worldarchitecture.org

The second room is dedicated to “saying goodbye.” The triangular shape of the room allows space for groups of different sizes to gather and pay respects. Sloping walls create a curved channel where the coffin sits, drawing guests into a deeply intimate moment with the coffin in close proximity compared to the rest of the room. Behind the coffin is a  glass wall opening to a panoramic view of the woods, evoking a cyclical return to nature during the end-of-life process. 

Several other designers have recently sought to return death to its ancient roots among the woods and the forest. Bob Hendrikxz’s mycelium coffin takes that statement literally, allowing the body to decompose faster surrounded through a “Living Cocoon” of mushroom matter. Other companies are looking to circumvent the traditional funeral process, like Cremstar’s planned expansion into funeral spaces.

The first room in the funeral space surrounds visitors with digital memories of the person who died.
Credit: worldarchitecture.org

The third and final room seeks to create a celebration of life at the end of the experience. Warm timber-lined environs also feature a glass panorama of nature, as a cozy and relaxed ambience unfolds throughout the room. The curved walls also lend to a sense of ease, allowing guests to shed their anxieties and fears and enjoy each other’s company.

The post-ceremony gathering is enhanced by the warm tones in the third room.
Credit: worldarchitecture.org

The design is unfamiliar but welcome for many that have seen the traditional funeral home experience, clad in outdated green carpet and personal effects perhaps arranged neatly on a table to sum up the life that everyone came to celebrate. Hofman Dujardin’s design turns the end-of-life celebration into a modern, sleek affair but without losing the emotion and sentimentality at its core.