My Favorite Place

A series of highly visible monuments will act as positive beacons for cities and their inhabitants. The object, placed in central locations throughout the city and landscape, re-conceptualizes the idea of death in direct opposition to conventional approaches of shrouding and marginalizing mourning spaces. The image of death will be a visual reminder, thus de-stigmatizing it. Generations to come will grow up without associating spaces of memorial and repose with fear, loss, and negativity.

Location: Integrated Spaces of Repose

Reinterpreting mourning and burial spaces as public objects allows them to exist in more personalized places formerly deemed unsuitable. The visibility of the megalith shis the process of mourning to be integrated into the city itself, in spaces respective mourners designate, in the appropriate fashion they designate. Rather than being funneled into a specified space, a more meaningful process of mourning can come in the form of a quiet moment of contemplation in the park, or rereflection on a shared memory in a certain place.

The Design: New Ritual Objects

Reminiscent of ancient monoliths that honored the dead, the monuments aim to detach themselves from any distinctive architectural style, even from architecture itself, and instead aim to be seen as
mystical objects meant to evoke a sense of wonder. The surface area of the monolith contains an interactive network of lights, able to be digitally called by family members and friends to emit a serene, pulsating light in honor of the deceased.