Urban Death Project Composts Human Remains

Urban Death Project concept image
(Credit: wired.com)

Architect Katrina Spade may be the first person to offer an alternative to burial or cremation of human remains: composting. It has been true since time immemorial that our bodies come from and return to the earth. We are what we eat, drink and breathe. With the Urban Death Project, Spade has designed a system whereby human remains can literally return to earth in the middle of a city. Part funeral home, part memorial, part public park, her “recomposition” center is designed to naturally accelerate the decomposition process. It turns human remains in a loam-like compost in about four to six weeks.

It works like this. The central concrete structure is three stories high, comprising an internal landscape of remains separated by 3 feet of wood chip mulch. There are holes in the sides of the structure to aerate the material. This increases the activity of microorganisms, which speeds up the decomposition process. There is also a loading bay at ground level to raise a casket up to the third floor, which is a memorial place where families can hold a funeral service or other ritual. There is also a ramp from the ground to the top level, which affords the opportunity for a mindful procession with the casket. The top floor also holds a 6-by-10 foot bay, where the shrouded body sits. During the memorial, mourners can toss wood chips instead of flowers as the mechanism lowers the body of their loved one into the structure.

Urban Death Project concept image
(Credit: wired.com)

As the body slowly descends and decomposes, it transforms into material that is no longer human. Instead, it is the organic stuff that helps plants grow. At the very bottom of the recomposition structure, the workers gather the coarse loam and sift through it, looking for small items such as metal dental fillings. They then process the material by natural means into fertile compost.

The Urban Death Project sounds like a reasonable idea, but will it work? And will the public be interested in using it? Well, Spade is set to test out her extensive research in partnership with Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, a soil scientist at Washington State University. WSU already has a systematic decomposition process in place for the animals that die within their agricultural department. But they’ve never tested a vertical system such as the one Spade has designed. On-site trials are beginning next year.

Interior view of the Steven Holl Chapel of St. Ignatius
(Credit: pcad.lib.washington.edu)

As for public appeal, Spade suggests that this concept need not be distasteful or macabre in any way. Rather, she envisions different places and cultures creating their own aesthetic take. In this article, Spade is cited referencing two existing sites — Steven Holl’s Chapel of St. Ignatius on the Seattle University campus, and Peter Zumthor’s Therme Vals. The latter is a Swiss spa built over thermal springs. Something similar might encompass the vertical tower or influence the aesthetics of the ritual room at the top.

Both burial and cremation come at a high environmental and financial cost to the living. As Spade’s research continues, we may find that “recomposition” is a viable alternative  especially in densely populated urban areas.