Moying Huang

According to a recent report, around 265 people die in London every day and the number of cremations has increased from 30% in 1960 to 70% in 2018. However, during the cremation itself, there are toxic emissions – mercury, dioxin – which could have a negative impact on people's health. Also, in London, there is limited burial space, especially in inner boroughs. To solve these problems, I have chosen a liquid-cremation technology which does not involve incineration and therefore avoids any associated pollution issues.

This project responds to the overall problem by imagining how the future crematoriums of London in 2025 can be mutually efficient as well as emphatic: being able to host four multi-faith cremation services simultaneously, whilst ensuring that this futural factory protects the need for intimacy, privacy, ritual and ceremony that each family deserves. Funeral Futures also features different memorial facilities, using liquid-cremation techniques to convert human matter into jewellery or sculptural icons for embedding into different votive walls or towers. The three option allows them to embed the DNA of their loved ones into tree-saplings, creating a living memorial with added carbon offset value, too.