The Importance of Cemetery Design

Saying goodbye to a loved one is always difficult, but it’s important for cemeteries to provide an experience that’s dignified and respectful. These cemetery designs from around the world do just that.

The cemetery entrance is the gateway into a special place. It should use a design vernacular that reflects the cultural traditions of the community.

Master Plan

A well-developed master plan helps a cemetery understand how to best use its land and provides a roadmap for future expansions. This can also help prevent problems before they occur, so you can avoid costly mistakes.

For example, a cemetery’s master plan might include a strategy for balancing architectural mass and fluid, volumetric voids. This approach is used by a new multi-story columbarium at a cemetery in Italy, where gridded panels on the exterior facade are sized similarly to burial niches, establishing a unified spatial experience. This contrast with the interior of the building reinforces the role of each space as a “home” for a deceased person’s cremated remains. A master plan can also address site challenges like an existing maintenance shop located across a busy road, which could potentially compromise employee safety. By moving the maintenance facility, it is possible to improve safety and provide a more accessible location for staff training. The design also screened the new shop with vegetation to enhance the aesthetics of the site.

Green Footprint

Although a cemetery may seem like a benign landscape, it can actually have a substantial environmental footprint. The use of pesticides and fertilizers for lawn maintenance, as well as the ongoing watering of graves, contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the space needed for new burials often leads to the expansion of cemeteries, encroaching on natural habitats and agricultural land.

Traditional burial methods also have a significant environmental impact, especially because of the chemicals used in embalming. The casket itself can be made from precious metals or rare woods, requiring significant energy and resources to manufacture. Moreover, the casket must be buried in a vault, which itself requires significant amounts of steel and concrete.

Cremation, on the other hand, has a much smaller environmental footprint because it avoids the need for caskets and does not require the excavation of graves. Nevertheless, it still requires fossil fuels to heat the kiln and power the cremation equipment.

Accessibility

The cemetery landscape should be easy to navigate for everyone who visits. Whether they have limited mobility or use wheelchairs, visitors need a clear path to each grave. A cemetery’s design should include paved paths, curbless entrances, and signage that is easy to read from both a distance and up close.

The monuments and headstones of today are designed with symbols that convey meaning and honor the life of those who have passed. Symbols like crosses, stars of David and crescent moons denote faith and spiritual beliefs while flowers and leaves represent beauty, purity and remembrance.

Cemetery managers juggle a lot of tasks on a daily basis, including comforting grieving families and maintaining their grounds. Adding technology like walk-to-grave navigation to their arsenal can help ease their workload by eliminating one of the most repetitive tasks. It is the first step toward easing logistical burdens for visitors with disabilities or limited mobility. It can also be a catalyst to rekindle community interest in the historic cemetery and increase volunteer development.

Signage

With the evolution of personalized memorialization, cemetery design has a significant role in shaping an individual’s connection to their loved one. From the carefully curated spaces of memorial park cemeteries to headstones that capture their unique essence, design plays an essential role in personalizing remembrance.

A Cemetery Entry Feature welcomes visitors to the site and establishes character within the grounds. This includes a traditional swinging gate element that establishes a transition into or out of the Cemetery. It also provides an opportunity to reinforce the site’s historic context.

Traditional gravestones include inscriptions and symbols that convey meaning and respect for the deceased. Floral motifs, such as roses and lilies, often symbolize beauty, purity, and remembrance, while crosses and stars of David reflect faith and heritage. Other symbols, such as an anchor or a butterfly, symbolize hope and eternity. As the landscape of remembrance continues to evolve, the design of headstones and other markers will continue to be shaped by these enduring themes.

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