A Cemetery needs to be both beautiful and functional. It should be easy for people to navigate, especially if it is located in a busy area.
Considering the strong inclination toward cremation, it’s time to consider rethinking the traditional cemetery layouts and designs to utilize space efficiently. A well designed cemetery will add value and increase revenues.
Landscaping
Cemetery landscape design should be a balance of aesthetic appeal and respectful remembrance. The space should be a place of tranquility and dignity that allows visitors to come to terms with their loss in a natural setting.
A well-designed irrigation system is a must, to ensure lawns, flowers and trees are receiving the water they need. Periodic aeration with a core aerator is also recommended to reduce soil compaction, which hinders vegetative growth and leads to erosion.
Signage is important to help orientate visitors throughout the cemetery. Benches and pathways provide comfortable spaces for visitors to rest and reflect. Flowering shrubs, bushes and perennials add beauty to the landscape throughout the year. Spring bulbs like tulips and daffodils, summer annuals, and fall pansies bring vibrant colors to the cemetery grounds.
Trees and groves of trees can provide privacy to mourners while offering a natural habitat for wildlife. Green burial options are becoming increasingly popular for people who wish to be buried in nature.
Burial Plots
Some of the most profound decisions in our lives involve deciding where we’ll be laid to rest. While it’s never easy to think about death, it’s important to plan ahead so your loved ones don’t have to make those kinds of choices in a time of mourning.
Burial plots are usually in-ground spaces designed to accommodate a single casket and include space for a headstone or monument. They’re typically located within a cemetery and are the most common option for traditional burials.
Burial sections should generally conform to the existing terrain, with final grades ranging from two percent, the minimum needed for positive drainage, up to 15 percent to achieve a predominant uniform slope. Burial sections should also have clear boundaries defined by permanent gravesite control markers.
Monuments
A cemetery monument serves as a permanent reminder of a loved one and can feature inscriptions, designs, symbols, epitaphs, and other wording to memorialize the deceased. These types of memorials are often carved or sculpted from granite and other durable materials, but may also be constructed from marble and bronze.
Monuments are available in a variety of styles and sizes and are allowed by most cemeteries. Some examples include upright monuments that stand vertically, flat markers that lie flush with the ground, and slant markers that have an angled face. Memorial benches are a common choice that serve as both a marker and a resting place for visitors.
An experienced memorial provider can work closely with families to create a monument that honors their loved ones, while keeping in mind cemetery rules and Jewish tradition. They can also help families arrange for the proper time to purchase a monument, such as after shivah or at the end of funeral services.
Interior Design
Cemetery design needs to consider a range of internal aspects. In some cases this can be as simple as directional signage that helps people navigate the grounds. It can also be more complex, such as the layout of a multi-story columbarium or mausoleum that balances architectural mass and fluid, volumetric voids.
Drainage systems are another crucial component of cemetery design. These must be properly sized during the master planning process to avoid costly replacements down the line. Similarly, a cemetery should be careful to ensure that it is utilizing environmentally friendly methods for water management, such as subsoil drainage, reed bed construction, surface and catch all drainage designs.
In some unique cases, where urban land scarcity has limited the capacity for burial grounds, architects have turned to alternative strategies that respect the deceased. For example, the design of the Dignity Memorial Mausoleum in Santiago de Chile uses air rights to elevate the building above its neighbors, creating a sense of omnipresence without consuming valuable urban space.