The past several semesters, I have been looking deeply into the design of cemeteries. I studied Hart Island last semester and before that Pere La Chaise in Paris.

So, this semester I really wanted to keep with the cemetery theme as it has been something that I have been wrapped up in for quite some time. I started the semester looking at two small cemeteries in downtown Manhattan on Second Street in-between First and Bowery. These two cemeteries go by very similar names, New York Marble Cemetery and New York City Marble Cemetery. I spent a lot of time with these. I was interested in the fact that they are both in the center of the block, almost hidden from the rest of the city.

I have been focused on the idea of a garden cemetery being the main accessible green space in a city like New York. With such limited space already, we take green space and nature wherever we can get it. With the pandemic and even before we are also running out of space to bury our dead.

I designed a small scale cemetery, holding up to 521 interred bodies. This garden cemetery is a system of ramps, burial chambers and catacombs, tucked away in the center of a block. It is a space for anyone to sit and enjoy the greenery or for loved ones to sit with their departed.