Project:
Norwegian Rhapsody

About

• Project description

  WHY SHOULD A CEMETERY BE ADDED TO THE NEW PUBLIC SPACE AT GRØNMO?
  

  - Multifunctionality is a pillar of a real sustainability. This new cemetery concept may be added as another layer of function without interfering in its use as a public space.
  

  - It provides Grønmo with a captivating identity, answering to the very human desire for becoming part of the nature, as a flower, as a sound, as landscape...

  - Grønmo can take a step forward in the urgently necessary reinvention of the current cemeteries and be a model for the development of other areas.

  -The gas generated in the area from the natural reactions in the waste can provide energy for the crematoria.

  -The area has 40 years of history in building an artificial landscape as a "cemetery" of waste. It would be beautiful if everything, even people, contributed to the creation of the landscape.

  -The area has to remain "unbuilt" for many years. Cemetery locations take up valuable plots in cities. This way we do not occupy new land areas that could be taken up for other uses.

  -Oslo is working on the revitalization of its waterfront.

  We aim for Grønmo to offer a function that does not compete with the urban life of the centers of the neighbouring towns, but to offer an unavoidable or complementary programme instead.

  

  WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO PLAN SPACES OF TRANQUILITY?
  

  Everything around us is more and more meant to start interrelation, contact, communication.... The possibility of a continuous interaction makes it a necessity, even an obligation, rather than an option.
  The qualities of being alone, calm, tranquil, serene, uninterrupted, concentrated, thinking, have been forgotten..
  Grønmo will be a place where it is possible to be alone, to be oneself, to be real, not virtual, to reach a lost level of concentration, of reality, to find oneself again, to think, to reflect, to contemplate, to meditate, to breathe. This is a place where sought after solitude can happen, where we learn about the beauty of tranquility, which is then accepted as another basic condition of people.
  
  

  

  WHY IS IT SO URGENT TO RETHINK THE CURRENT TYPOLOGY OF CEMETERIES AND, MORE GENERALLY, THE WAY WE LEAVE THIS PLANET?

  The growth of the world population renders the current burial traditions extremely unsustainable, not only in terms of space use which is causing a serious problem in many countries - but also in terms of
  environmental, economical, and social issues. It does not match the values that our contemporary society is pursuing.
  If we care about clean food and clean energy we should rethink the way we leave this planet after we die.
  -Current burials consume a large amount of resources (wood, steel, etc) and render the natural decomposition process (use of embalming fluids, etc) very toxic and unsustainable.
  -Cremation solves this problem but it can be done much more efficiently
  -The established process represents a disproportional sum of money for many families who see it as the only alternative.
  -A growing percentage of society does not hold religious beliefs and does not identify with the ritual. They understand death as a natural process.
  -Current cemeteries require a lot of maintenance.
  -Current cemeteries are usually uncomfortable places. They provide too much uncalled for information making its use as a public space difficult. Graves are often displays of economic status, beliefs, hobbies, or portraits from the deceased.
  

  

  HOW DOES GRONMO WORK ENVIRONMENTALLY, SOCIALLY, AND ECONOMICALLY?
  

  Multifunctional areas and the reuse of materials and spaces are crucial pillars of sustainability. Gronmo has taken the  first step and wishes to be regenerated into public spaces. By adding this new function we will contribute to the character and improved use of the area.
  Everybody can participate and become part of the landscape of Gronmo.
  Becoming part of Gronmo as an alternative to traditional burials saves up to 90% of the costs. Gronmo will work on a donation system that will contribute to its maintenance. People will contribute to the maintenance of a public space for everybody rather than to a specific gravestone in a traditional cemetery.
  

  WHAT WILL BE THE IDENTITY OF GRENMO? HOW CAN GRONMO BECOME A MODEL FOR OTHER COUNTRIES?
  
  As industrial sites are being preserved as a symbol of human achievement, Grønmo may be considered as a monument to the waste disposal sites of the 20th century and their later regeneration. The renewal of landfills into public spaces is an intelligent and sustainable strategy taking place around the world.
  Grønmo could take this chance to transform a very unsustainable programme into a consequent and intelligent function becoming a pioneer in the development of fully sustainable cemeteries, as a contemporary alternative that radically reduces the costs and resources used in traditional funerals, and simplifies its management considerably.
  It gives Grønmo a captivating identity, answering to the very human desire of becoming part of the nature, as a flower, as a sound, as landscape... It also frames something frightening - our death - with something that is real, to ground us in the unavoidable, and yet beautiful enough to bear. Nature, could handle the rest of the journey...
  It is a concrete metaphor of heaven on earth

  

• Jury remarks

  As a strong poetic statement this project provokes a vigorous debate of the site in terms of its history and its future. In proposing the a cemetery, it is program of unsentimental and challenging as a concept. The scheme is particularly polemical in its implied placement of the human body within the same system of material and energy flows as the landfill itself. This suggests the possibility of both positively re-evaluating the value of such a territory, as well as reframing the body in its post-burial state. The scheme provides a convincing argument for this.

  In addition to the positive aspect of raising these material/cultural/symbolic questions, a technical area of concern is the feasibility of placing burial plots in unstable and shifting ground as a result of
  settling landfill. Additionally, the scheme is somewhat undefined in terms of the development of spatial specificities in the different locations on the site.

  There were mixed opinions amongst the Jury over the visualizations of the project. While there was a general consensus that they were beautiful and evocative, there were some concerns expressed over their appropriateness in cultural and historical terms.

• Team

  Beatriz Ramo (ES)

  Contact information:
  www.st-ar.nl