Design for Death

Design for Death was an international competition in 2013 that aimed to use design innovations to improve the way in which we say goodbye. The brief for the competition, which drew entries from designers, artists and architects across the globe, was to “re-imagine and re-design” deathcare.

The competition aimed to raise the profile of the death-care industry, which deals with products and services related to deaths, funerals, cremations, burials and memorials. Held in two phases between Jan and Oct 2013, the competition attracted more than 1,300 entries from 90 countries. The first phase accepted entries in two categories – eco-friendly/green deathcare and the “wrappings of mortality”. The former showcased environmentally friendly deathcare products and practices while the latter focused on innovative designs of coffins, urns, niches and so forth. The second phase was on architecture and sought to redefine how space is used in cemeteries, memorials and other places of bereavement. The winning designs were featured at the 2013 international convention and expo organised by the National Funeral Directors’ Association held in Austin, Texas. The top winners in the eco-friendly category, from France, designed a biodegradable coffin while those in the second category, from Lithuania, designed a cluster of honeycomb shaped urn vaults which formed a “family tree” and ensured that family members who were together in life, would rest together in death as well. The top winners in the architecture category, from Austria, meanwhile, designed a crematory and columbarium built on an existing building and located in the heart of the city. Each received a cash prize of 25,000 Euros.