Urban cemeteries have a unique role in a city’s story and the way they are designed often reflect that history. Sensitive and thoughtful cemetery design is key to a positive outcome.
The LA Group has a long-standing reputation for providing intuitive, dignified designs that leave an impression. Whether it’s a master plan to preserve an historic facility or a new build, our team understands the human experience and the emotional role cemeteries play in people’s lives.
Landscape
The cemetery landscape is a vital component of a burial site’s design, defining its character and helping visitors interpret the monuments and memorial monuments it contains. The landscape can be a complex expression of historical plant communities and design traditions, with varying topography and plantings.
It can also evolve over time and respond to changing attitudes towards death, economic factors and maintenance budgets. It is important to understand the history of cemetery design and how its evolution has shaped the experience of visiting a burial site.
The landscape of a cemetery may consist of lawns, trees and shrubs, ground covers (such as grasses), or a combination of the two. Trees and shrubs can serve to protect visitors, structures and monuments by providing shade and limiting wind and water runoff. Pruning, aeration and fertilization can keep them healthy over time. They can also be used to add color and texture to the overall landscape.
Monuments
Monuments are an important part of cemetery design. They provide a means of identifying a deceased person and can be crafted in many different styles and shapes.
The majority of cemeteries have a set of rules and regulations that govern how memorials are made. These rules may limit the size, type or material that can be used.
In order to ensure that the memorial is acceptable, families should work with a cemetery provider who is familiar with their specific rules and regulations. This will save them time and stress down the road.
Graves
Graves are an important part of a cemetery. They represent a physical link between living and dead, and the cemetery design is often inspired by this.
Typically, the size and placement of grave markers reflect social stratification, based on ethnicity, religion, and class. They can also show family relationships.
The inscriptions on grave markers can also reveal beliefs and values about death and life, as well as the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead.
In a cemetery, graves are surrounded by fences and slabs of stone, which may be placed on top of the ground to protect them. They can be engraved with the names of the deceased and sometimes their dates of birth and death, or they can be plain without any markings.
A cemetery’s layout is influenced by feng shui, the ancient Chinese philosophy that promotes the use of natural elements in architecture. Stable terrain and rich soil are key to the efficient functioning of a cemetery.
Ponds
Ponds are an important element of cemetery design. They add character to the landscape and help attract birds, butterflies, and other wildlife.
A pond can also provide water for the bodies of dead. This is particularly true for cremains.
The ponds in Mount Auburn cemetery are not just there to be pretty, but they play a crucial role in the health of the environment as well. They serve as an essential resource for waterfowl and other wildlife, providing habitat and food.
To better understand how ponds and their surrounding landscape affect wildlife, the LA Group and Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery will conduct surveys over several months. We’ll look at the pond and surrounding areas to see what animals are visiting it and how they are interacting with each other.