Designing burial spaces
Kin Wai Michael Siu, Culture and Design: A New Burial Concept in a Densely Populated Metropolitan Area (pdf)
“[T]he research findings indicated that current burial policy and methods cannot satisfy the cultural needs and preferences of the people Hong Kong. In particular, the so-called better policy — cremation — is not a sustainable solution for Hong Kong’s urban environment… [A] new government policy for sustainable cemeteries and a new concept in sustainable environmental and product design, the Invisible Niche, was proposed. This involved putting the ashes of the deceased after cremation into degradable urns to be buried underground. The ashes will enrich the environment. After the ashes have completely decomposed, the land will be ready for more ashes. Thus, the space for cremated ashes is unlimited. The most important point is that the ashes will be underground, which is in accord with the beliefs and attitudes of the Chinese toward death. That is ‘Returning to the earth and being at peace.’”
Interesting article - especially its closing discussion of why the proposal was rejected by both funeral service providers and Hong Kong authorities.