Bridging Life and Death
Name team member 1: Coco van Weelden
Nationality: Dutch
Company: van Weelden de Wilde
Name team member 2: Paul de Wilde
Nationality: Dutch
Company: van Weelden de Wilde
Bridging life and death
An offering to acceptance
#bridginglifeanddeath
#novelrituals
#reconnecting
#cemeterybridge
#journeytowardsacceptance
‘Bridging life and death‘ critically reacts on our seemingly forgotten relationship between life and death. It symbolically closes the gap with an architectural gesture that naturally has the ability to connect: a cemetery bridge in the vibrant heart of London. The cemetery challenges the notion of merely housing the dead, by spiritually guiding the visitor towards acceptance.
Emotions make us mere human and at times of great loss, we grief. Bringing oneself back to the world of the living requires going through an emotional journey through 5 phases of grief: depression, isolation, negotiation, anger, and acceptance. The bridge offers each phase a spatial translation.
The following text describes the experience of the rituals around the first phase of the journey: depression.
By boat we cross the river towards the cylindrical column. We immerse the world of the dead. High interior walls covered with a continuous grid of urns surround the central arena where the service takes place. After the ceremony we circle the slope and pay our final tribute when we cover the urn with dozens of gold leaves. For him the journey has come to an end. For us it marks the beginning of our journey towards acceptance.