Space Planning and Cemetery Design

Space Planning

Developing a cemetery requires careful space planning. This includes understanding sales trends, new trends in burial practices and demographics for the local community. Space planning also consists of developing a site master plan that determines the type and number of grave spaces, mausoleums, chapels, office buildings and maintenance yards.

Once the master plan is determined, the actual design process can begin. This includes determining the layout of graves, mausoleums and other park amenities within each burial section based on topography, road layout, access and aesthetics. The design should include a theme to establish the identity of the cemetery and a schematic concept plan.

Often, cemetery design obliterates the existing setting to create a monotonous and typical place that looks like every other cemetery along a highway. It’s important to work with unique areas and respond in a way that will add value for the public. This may include adding a water feature, a carillon tower or other landscape features that provide distinction and critical mass.

Planning for Future Growth

Cemeteries benefit from taking a fresh look at their future on a regular basis. Whether it’s on a 5 year cycle or more, a process that includes a business/financial analysis, a demographics assessment and an options study will allow for the best decisions to be made when it comes to new and infill development.

Directional signage helps people find their way around the cemetery, allowing them to locate specific gravesites and buildings. Proper drainage systems are essential, and should be designed by a professional to ensure water flows away from gravesites rather than toward them.

Cemetery landscapes that have a variety of plants, flowers and trees attract wildlife and bring a sense of calming beauty to the space. Ponds are also a great addition as they can serve dual-duty by providing irrigation and management of stormwater drainage.

Maintenance

Modern cemetery design must go beyond a place to lay a grave. It must be a vibrant celebration of life, family, history and individuality – integrated within a shared community. This requires a special kind of know-how.

An essential part of any cemetery master plan is to understand the site in terms of its topography, climate, drainage, soil conditions, zoning and adjacent land uses. A good understanding of these factors allows for a thoughtful development and implementation of the plan that minimizes expensive earthmoving and grading, preserving natural site features, while maximizing cemetery revenue production.

Lastly, the design of interment areas must balance efficiency with federal requirements and work positively with the four natural systems on the site. A well thought out grading plan that achieves one predominant slope in each burial section, eliminates rising and falling slopes and enables positive drainage is a must.

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