Dead Space: The Hyper-dense Graveyard of Hong Kong

Dead Space: The Hyper-dense Graveyard of Hong Kong

Hong Kong's very limited urban space brings that spectacular urban scheme where the high density of skyscrapers crammed into a small land is a phenomenal sight. Among Hong Kong's numerous remarkable architectures, its spatial typology of death is like no other. Due to the suffering from land shortages in the late 1970s, Hong Kong government had banned the construction of new, permanent cemeteries against mass public burial sites.

The hyper-dense vertical graveyards reach the heights up to 60 stories. The cemeteries carefully arranged and oriented in tiers, are carved into the city’s steep mountainsides like a sloped roof down to the island that offer views over Hong Kong’s residential districts just beyond the mountainside. 
Photos by  RIBA-nominated architectural photographer Finbarr Fallon


The photos by the RIBA-nominated architectural photograpgher, Finbarr Fallon captured the hyper-dense graveyards of Hong Kong, showcasing the sublime geometry of its mountainside burials in a series titled 'Dead Space'. Fallon's photo series of Dead Space explores how these vertical graveyard formed in contrasts with Hong Kong’s contemporary developments.


'I have always been intrigued by how city-specific cemetery design can be. While death is universal, its memorialization practices are not. I found it fascinating that extreme density and verticality continue to be a defining characteristic of Hong Kong’s dwellings for both the living and the dead.' -Finbarr Fallon , 2019
As acccording to Fallon, the images juxtapose residences for two diametrically opposed groups—the residential building for the live, and vertical graveyard for the dead. However, there is a conceptual tension between both environments, the geometric patterns that are reflected in both the skyscrapers’ gridded details and the cemetery’s uniform tombstones create a shared visual language.
The graveyards occupy the area's mountainsides as a response to its extreme urban density, as well as Chinese Feng Shui traditions. As congested as these tiered terraces may seem, but the graveyards are in fact extremely over-priced, making them unattainable to many. In addition to the expenses, there is also the obstacle of space constraints, which is why the Hong Kong government is now encouraging cremation instead of burials. Today, these graveyards represent an abstract intersection between tradition, eternal life, and modern-day demands. -Dima Stouhi , 2019
Despite the extremely cost of burial plots, the Hong Kong citizen still prefer the traditional burial. The people are willing to spend the expenses, as well as to make the arduous climb up to the burial terrace to pay their respect for their ancestors. It is believed that the uppermost grave plots are generally the most auspicious, one has to spare a thought for the relatives who must endure the long and difficult climb to reach the top!



reference:
Evan Nicole Brown (2019). Inside the High-rise Graveyard of Hong Kong. Fast Company. Retrieved from: https://www.fastcompany.com/90398412/the-high-rise-graveyards-of-hong-kong-in-photos

Lynne Myers (2019). Dead Space by Finbarr Fallon Documents The Hyperdense Vertical Graveyards Of Hong Kong. Designboom. Retrieved from: https://www.designboom.com/architecture/dead-space-finbarr-fallon-vertical-graveyards-hong-kong-08-23-2019/

Dima Stouhi (2019). Photographic Series Captures The Hyper-dense Vertical Graveyards of Hong Kong. ArchDaily. Retrieved from: https://www.archdaily.com/923847/photographic-series-captures-the-hyper-dense-vertical-graveyards-of-hong-kong

Anastasia Arellano. Real Estate Is So Expensive In Hong Kong That Some People Are Buried In Vertical Graveyards.Dusty Old Thing. Retrieved from: https://dustyoldthing.com/vertical-graveyard-hong-kong/