Bios Urn
Whenever I visit the cemetery where my granddad is buried I think of all the space needed for the gravestones and the pointlessness of the huge mausoleums some families build for themselves. I really don't think people need such mementos in order to be remembered. I'd much rather be cremated and thrown into the wind or a river than lie in a coffin.
It's probably old news but I've just stumbled upon a project of Spansih designer Martín Azúa: he created a special urn called Bios Urn from natural materials which turns people's ashes into trees. An awesome idea. After all, who wouldn't want to be a tree in a second life? You can even choose what kind.
Bios Urn
The Bios Urn project reintroduces the human being to the natural circle of life. It is the profaine ritual of regeneration and the return to nature. Bios is a mortuary urn made from biodegradable materials: coconut shell, compacted peat and cellulose. Inside it contains the seed of a tree. Once the urn is planted, the seed germinates and begins to grow. The seed can be changed for a different type of seed or plant more adequate to the chosen planting place, if need be.
Gerard Moline 2002, Tutors Martín Azúa, Emili Padros / Definitive product Azúamoliné 2005 / Top nominee - INDEX Awards 2005 / Produced by CIRE / Distributed by Limbo Disseny