City of the Dead

Brief

Design an artificial island located in Biscayne Bay to serve as a cemetery for the city of Miami. 

Site Location

The cemetery is situated behind the Sister Banks off the Deering Channel and is aligned with the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (see aerial to the right).

This placement is optimal given that the sand banks shelter the cemetery from the traffic while keeping it easily accessible.  

Mimicking the character of the sunken stone ship structure off the coast of Vizcaya, the cemetery's low elevation and materiality establish a connection between the two. This visual relationship makes the cemetery appear weathered with the passing of time: a common motif throughout the museum. 

Approach

Miami‘s population is made up of various ethnicities, faiths, and traditions, so it was my goal to design a cemetery that would offer a variety of burial options to cater to this diversity.

Modular Design

Mauseleum as a building unit 

Using the cemetery of Recoleta (Buenos Aires, Argentina) as a starting point, I explored the mausoleum as both a burial and building unit. Whereas each mausoleum in Recoleta exalts the family's social standing through extravagance and monumentality, my design partially submerges the mausoleums within a central contained pool. This arrangement removes the element of grandiosity, instead choosing to subdue them in favour of a more homogeneous landscape across the island, which resembles a sea of floating graves.

Plan and section depicting the various uses and their arrangement throughout the island

Alternative Burial Spaces

Catering to the demand for alternative funerary arrangements, the cemetery has a sloping columbarium. Following the language of the mausoleums, this columbarium submerges its niches, creating both acoustic and visual isolation from any neighbouring distractions. Similarly, traditional standing graves can be found mirrored across the island, accommodating mourners opting for individual plots.

Ceremonies

A place for gathering, remembering, and honouring the deceased

As part of the mourning process, the living often need to participate in a parting ritual with the dead. In order to accommodate such rituals, this cemetery provides two platforms on its eastern front. These terraced spaces provide gathering areas for services as well as individual contemplation.

Depending on the time of day, ceremonies can be oriented with Vizcaya as a backdrop, or with the sunrise overlooking the central pool.