PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Recompose Seattle is the world’s first full-service funeral home to provide “natural organic reduction,” also known as human composting, to the public. Designed in collaboration with founder and CEO Katrina Spade, the facility converts human remains into organic soil, helping nourish new life after death.

References to nature throughout the site and building communicate the link between the Recompose process and natural cycles, as well as the positive impact of this personal decision. An entry garden and oversized mural on the façade differentiate Recompose from its industrial neighbors while underscoring connections to nature. Inside the ceremony space, the design avoids overt religious markers, instead framing a flexible, meditative and inclusive space. Strips of inset green glass create a dappled effect, like light filtering through the forest canopy. This glazing also frames small views to the array of hexagonal composting vessels, stacked like a bee’s hive. A transitional vessel linking the ceremony space to the back of house composting areas includes acoustic perforations that mirror the moon’s waxing and waning cycle, as well as a line of poetry. These elements are not visible to the living; instead, they serve to honor the experience of the dead.

PROJECT INFORMATION

Entry Type: Single Entry

Channel: Service

Primary Role of the Designer: Designer as brand steward

Client Relationship: A retainer relationship

Intention of the Project: Introduction of a new product, service, or program

Development Budget: Decline to state

Production/Execution Budget: Decline to state

Source of Funding: Client

Typefaces:

Paper:

Materials: paint, glass, wood, natural textiles, living plants

CREDIT INFORMATION

Creative Director:

Art Director:

Designers: Olson Kundig, Architect (Alan Maskin, Design Principal; Blair Payson, AIA, LEED® AP, Project Manager; Nick Ladd, LEED® AP, Project Architect; Bryan Samuel, Project Architect; Steve Lambie, Billy Guarino and Richard Lee, Architectural Staff); Katrina Spade, Client and Collaborating Designer

Researchers:

Developers:

Copywriter:

Illustrator: Jeff Jacobson / Weirdocult, Muralist

Photographer: Austin Wilson

Printer:

Producer:

Other Credits: Recompose Team: Katrina Spade, Founder and CEO; Marlene Bailey, Capital Projects Manager; Lynne Carpenter-Boggs, PhD, Research Advisor; Alan Maskin, Architecture and Design; Erik Bondo, Project Management. Sellen, General Contractor; Veksel Consulting & Construction, Owner’s Representative; TK1SC, Structural Engineer; Auburn Mechanical, Mechanical Engineer; Sequoyah Electric, Electrical Engineer; Watt Lighting, Lighting Design.

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