Redesigning death in the public space: using the rituals of death in Hinduism as a tool to shape a space for mourning and remembrance

Abstract

South Africa is a country that is home to the highest population of Indians outside of India. This being said, the way that South African Indians deal with death is not a consideration in the places in which they say their final goodbyes. Rituals of death are copied and pasted into architectural typologies that were not meant to house them. Even the rituals themselves are diluted to fit the limited spaces that are provided. They have been stripped of meaning and as such have resulted in new disjointed rituals that don’t provide the same sense of closure. This study aims to understand what the roots of those rituals are, compared to my own experience of death as a South African Indian. Through desktop research, I will look into the mythology of death in Hinduism. Literature reviews will investigate identity and how using architectural tools can assist in creating better spaces for mourning and remembrance. Interviews will help to establish how South African Indians go about death and cremation. Using these methodologies and architectural insight I wish to design a new typology for crematoriums in South Africa. This new typology would better cater to the South African Indian population. In addition to bringing an unconventional program into a more public setting to help those dealing with death confront it as part of life and assist with the process of mourning and remembrance