Communication

Cemeteries Matter

Extra Form
Country	USA
Year	2025
Award	WINNER
Designer	Zheng He
English	The urban cemetery is a carefully crafted and highly organized cultural landscape. It provides for the burial of bodies and, more importantly, a meeting point between the living and the dead. This allows us to go back in time to honor our loved ones and realize time's spatial convergence. Bonaventure Cemetery is located in Savannah, which is a traditional Victorian cemetery. The cemetery contains a large number of beautiful Victorian and Neoclassical-style headstones sculptures and artifacts. This design focuses on preserving the historic cemetery and adding ceremonial space and underwater eco-burials to the remaining open space.
Native	长期以来，景观一直为人类提供了一个物理的、感官的、短暂的储存库，用于储存悲伤和死者。换句话说，无论我们以何种方式死亡，所有人类遗骸都会以某种形式回归景观。其中，哀悼景观的存在可以鼓励死者家属走出悲伤情绪。帮助死者家属度过与亲人去世相关的创伤环境，以重新着迷的身份回归日常生活。因此，设计者提出在以往对于墓地保存的常规方式中加入景观设计。帮助把墓地这个通常于恐怖、痛苦和悲剧联系在一起的地点，转变为爱与记忆的空间。本项目希望探索公共墓地在城市环境以及社会层面的新角色，重新思考墓地保存的价值。为墓地中现有的生物提供栖息地，修复城市生态系统，并且在这里提供一种特殊的情感体验，作为心理再生和精神上重建身体的场所。将人与自然联系起来，使墓地不仅成为由一层层可见的历史和隐藏的叙事组成的城市文化景观遗产，还能满足当代人们对于荒野即兴美学的浪漫忧郁的愉悦。
Positive Comments
Judging Comments	This project is recognized for its thoughtful blend of history, culture, and innovation. The design successfully preserves the legacy of Bonaventure Cemetery, while adding modern elements like ceremonial spaces and eco-friendly underwater burials. The careful attention to maintaining the cemetery’s Victorian and Neoclassical features alongside these new additions creates a harmonious environment that honors both the past and future. This integration of tradition and sustainability is lauded for its sensitivity to the site’s cultural significance and the respect for the living and the dead.