Celebrando la muerte.

Abstract

While not as poetic as the cemetery, and bathed in a grimmer light, the present research addresses the subject of funerary architecture involved in the farewell; the funeral parlour-crematorium. Around 60% of these buildings in Spain are located in industrial parks. Since these are the architectural representatives of the celebration of death, responsible for hosting the funeral rite, we ask ourselves, are they doing their job well? We set out to understand the reasons behind the formalisation of this architecture in this location, and to analyse the recurrent features of its design affecting our relationship with the funerary rite. By relating funerary practices to our attitude towards death, we get a glimpse of the complexity of the issue. The reader is urged to reflect on these buildings, constructed with apparent inertia, on which little or no thought has been invested by architects.