Archinect - News

Architect proposes turning dead humans into compost

2015-03-08T18:49:00-04:00

"I know this is going to be an offensive simplification of the value of a human body," she (Carpenter-Boggs) wrote in an e-mail, "but one could compare the fertilizer value to 100 pounds of cottonseed meal." She linked to a bag of "6-2-1" cottonseed-meal fertilizer on sale at Amazon.com. "Which, from this source, would be two of the 50-pound bags = $144" Of course, the nutrient value of human beings as soil is only a small component of the Urban Death Project's overall mission.

A somewhat long-read on a proposal for turning dead human bodies into compost, and the young architect who is proposing a structure for cities to do so. Check out more renderings and information at Urban Death Project.

Seattle architect seeks to redesign America's burial landscape

2015-03-04T13:30:00-05:00

Seattle-based architect [Katrina Spade], originally from New England, has a vision that could radically reshape not just the death-care industry but the way we think about death itself. She calls her plan the Urban Death Project, and it proposes a middle road between burial and cremation: compost. [...] The centerpiece of the idea is an approximately three-story-high building in an urban center where people could bring their dead.

Editor's Picks #375

2014-07-09T19:31:00-04:00

Inspired by the 2014 Venice Biennale curated by Rem Koolhaas, Esther Sperber penned the Op-Ed in which she argues that contemporary architecture must shift From (EX)CITE to (IN)CITE.

In response Thayer-D wrote "There's no rule that says architects can't stimulate both the senses and the intellect, as many great architects have done in the past, yet it's architecture's public nature that makes it imperative to not lose sight of how most people engage with it, and that is not through words".

News
Justine Testado posted the news, Zaha Hadid wins the D esign Museum’s Designs of the Year Award 2014. Despite (or perhaps due to?) some critics, Donna Sink commented "I think all the criticism Zaha is getting for her stance on human rights is totally appropriate and deserved. And I have very mixed feelings about her body of work. But I find this building in particular hard to resist - it's just gorgeous. Perfectly balanced".

The Creators Project interviewed David Benjamin, creator of MoMA PS1's...

"A Recipe To Live": Modern Japanese Straw House Naturally Heated By Compost

2013-07-02T12:06:00-04:00

The simple, sustainable design of "A Recipe to Live" easily integrates with the lifestyle and landscape of the dairy farm town Taiki-cho in Hokkaido. Designed by students Masaki Ogasawara, Keisuke Tsukada and Erika Mikami of Waseda University, the project was the winner of the 2011 LIXIL International University Architectural Competition.

"A Recipe to Live" is a perfect mixture of pleasing organic aesthetics and practicality that is suitable for life on the pastures. Clean lines and geometric shapes give the shelter durability, while the spacious interior and simple floor plan is ideal for performing everyday tasks or resting. On the other hand, natural tones, soft lighting, and dried straw convey an organic feel that reflect the house's pastoral surroundings. However, even these aesthetic qualities are functional.

An example--and perhaps the house's most unique feature--is its zero-energy heating and cooling system, which uses only dried straw and agricultural ferm...