INSIGHTS THE CULTURE OF CEMETERIES IN SAVANNAH
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INSIGHT REPORT THE CULTURE OF CEMETERIES IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA A CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH PROJECT CONDUCTED BY: SHANNON VANDERHILL JAY PRAJAPATI FATIMA BABAR LIEN-FENG CHAN
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CONTENTS
CONTENTS
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INTRODUCTION
FRAMEWORKS
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What Drives Cemeteries in Savannah
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What Drives the Deceased to Cemeteries
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What Drives Visitors to Cemeteries
Process
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INSIGHT: FRENEMIES
INSIGHT: OLD IS GOLD
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Opportunity & How might we...?
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Opportunity & How might we...?
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Support
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Support
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Concepts
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Concepts
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INSIGHT: MERE MORTALS
INSIGHT: LESS IS... LESS
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Opportunity & How might we...?
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Opportunity & How might we...?
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Support
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Support
Concepts
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Concepts
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INSIGHT: BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP
INSIGHT: ALIVE & KICKING
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Opportunity & How might we...?
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Opportunity & How might we...?
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Support
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Support
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Concepts
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Concepts
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INSIGHT: SPACE OUT
INSIGHT: NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN
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Opportunity & How might we...?
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Opportunity & How might we...?
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Support
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Support
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Concepts
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Concepts
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
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DEAR READER, OUR TASK WAS TO RESEARCH THE CULTURE OF CEMETERIES IN SAVANNAH. WE CONDUCTED AND ANALYZED SECONDARY RESEARCH, OBSERVATIONS, AND INTERVIEWS TO DISTILL DEEP INSIGHTS. THESE INSIGHTS LED US TO IDEAS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF CEMETERIES IN SAVANNAH. WE HOPE THEY MIGHT DO THE SAME FOR YOU.
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INTRODUCTION
Process
PROCESS Over ten weeks, our team went through an intense research process to develop a deep understanding of the culture of cemeteries in Savannah.
We began our research process by scouring the internet and reading as much as we could about cemeteries and the activities and people that surround them.
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All of the data we found significant from our secondary research was turned into data points and synthesized through four research models. We analyzed the trends occurring around cemeteries, the competitors and complimentors of the cemetery industry, and the activities and cultural factors that effect cemeteries.
After our secondary research was complete, we began our primary research by venturing out into the field to observe the cemeteries. We recorded artifacts (green post its), activities (orange post its), and interactions (blue post its) from eight cemeteries to better understand cemeteries in Savannah.
Once we had an understanding of the cemeteries from observation, we determined who we wished to speak with from the cemetery community and designed the structure of the interview. We proceeded to interview ten figures from the industry and community around cemeteries.
After completing our interviews, we collected all of our data from secondary and primary research and analyzed it in order to draw deep insights. More data points were created from our research and organized and deciphered by our team.
From the analysis we were able to generate eight deep insights that inspired us to produce several concepts and sketches.
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FRAMEWORKS
FRAMEWORKS
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WE CREATED FRAMEWORKS THROUGH THREE LENSES TO DESCRIBE WHAT DRIVES THE CEMETERY, THE INTERRED DECEASED, AND THE CEMETERY VISITORS TO THEIR PURPOSES IN THE CEMETERY.
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FRAMEWORKS
What Drives Cemeteries in Savannah
WHAT DRIVES CEMETERIES IN SAVANNAH The framework to the right illustrates the values of those who work on behalf of the historic cemeteries in Savannah, hereafter referred to as the cemeteries. Surviving in a shifting cultural and physical landscape is the core concern that drives the cemeteries and is represented in the center of the framework. The cemeteries fight a number of battles against their core functions and permanence on a daily basis. Surrounding the core are the three means by which the cemeteries fight for their survival. They are preserving, recruiting, and adapting to stay relevant and functioning. The cemeteries seek to preserve not only the burials of the interred, but also the historical structures and flora, and the stories of the deceased and the site itself. The cemeteries serve the interred first, the families of the interred second, and the visitors third. The dead and their families are served through the arrangement, protection, and maintenance of their burial sites. Visitors also benefit from the preservation of the sites and their stories. The preservation of the cemeteries is tied in to the purpose of their existence. The deceased hoped and paid to be cared for forever and the cemeteries struggle to live up to that promise. The cemeteries manage preservation and other functions by recruiting employees with diverse skill sets, and partnerships with local non-profit organizations and universities. These partnerships provide the cemetery with free, and often skilled, help as well as additional revenue through donations. These volunteers and employees feel called to their work in the cemeteries through their personal connections and their passion for history and
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preservation. They seek to maintain the cemeteries connection to history by restoring the environment, as well as move the cemeteries into the future by educating the public. The cemeteries in Savannah are adapting to changing disposition practices and usage of their spaces. Though their first commitment is to the deceased and their family, they understand that policies and activities must evolve after the sites are sold out and burials cease. After even the creative solutions to make space are exhausted, the cemeteries must still provide care for the dead and generate revenue for that purpose by capitalizing on tourism or other business ideas. The cemeteries have changed and will continue to change in concert with the culture of Savannah and shifting beliefs about death and burial. Underlying the model are the factors that enable the survival of the cemeteries. Technology, money, time, and skills all contribute to the means that surround the core concern of the cemeteries as shown in the framework. The cemeteries are seeking to use technology to catalogue the history and stories of the cemetery as well as maintain the timeworn structures and sites. They need more funds to secure the future of the cemeteries through this preservation and record-keeping. All of these activities undertaken to run and maintain the cemetery require the time of their staff and volunteers. And those staff and volunteers must have a diverse set of skills to perform the ever-changing tasks the cemeteries require to function, revive, and thrive.
THE CEMETERIES
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FRAMEWORKS
What Drives the Deceased to Cemeteries
WHAT DRIVES THE DECEASED TO CEMETERIES The framework to right exemplifies the motives of the deceased and their loved ones for choosing traditional burial. Hereafter, the deceased and their loved ones will be referred to simply as the deceased. The deceased choose to be buried in marked graves in well-documented, and well-known cemeteries because they wish to be immortalized. This core desire lies in the center of the framework. Their hopes of what will happen around and because of their grave site. The key drivers surrounding the core are remembrance, connection, and protection. The deceased hope that their grave site will ensure that they are remembered so that future generations can know them in some small way. Monuments, markers, and other artifacts around grave sites reflect the person they mark. Epitaphs, symbols, and objects left by visitors are personal remnants left for future visitors to decipher and learn from. The deceased also hope that their grave sites will allow them to connect with both people and the location. They hope that their grave will connect them with the future, but also with the past. Many people are buried with past generations and are reunited in death spiritually, and physically. The deceased also feel a connection to the place where they are buried. It is where they have lived, their family has lived, where they were born, where they feel most at home. The deceased in cemeteries hope to be cared for and protected forever. They hope that their grave sites will be sacred. The deceased pay and trust the
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cemeteries for the promise of perpetuity and the cemeteries are obligated to ensure that the sites are preserved and treated with respect. The cemeteries first duty is to the deceased, then the family of the deceased, and then visitors. Cemeteries fight not to lose sight of the true purpose of the cemetery: to eternally care for the dead. Underlying the model are the factors that enable the immortalization of the deceased. A great amount of time, money, technology, and skill are necessary for the preservation of the sites. A cemeteries main functions are new burials and preservation. Relationships make grave sites worthwhile. Visitors have a physical place to go to connect with the deceased. And lastly, cemeteries are built on tradition. Burial is without question the way that disposition is managed for many people.
THE DECEASED
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FRAMEWORKS
What Drives Visitors to Cemeteries
WHAT DRIVES VISITORS TO CEMETERIES The framework to the right shows the value of cemeteries to their visitors. The cemeteries are a part of life in Savannah and they reflect the culture of the city surrounding them. As such, the role of the cemeteries has shifted over time. Visitors go to the cemeteries to engage, and this is the core of the framework. Surrounding the core, are the three drivers that represent the ways that visitors wish to engage with the cemeteries. They go to connect, admire, and learn.
and many other historical events in American history. Much can be learned about the past by the artifacts left behind and preserved in cemeteries.
Visitors go to the cemeteries to connect with the dead, with nature, and with their own ideas about mortality. They memorialize their loved ones and those they admire by visiting their graves. The graves become avatars, representing the life and personality of the deceased. The cemeteries remind visitors of the inevitability of death and the preciousness of life. These sites also become places to connect with nature. They are protected, peaceful, green spaces where nature, architecture, and identity merge.
that give visitors an experience in the cemeteries.
The nature and architecture that are enclosed in the cemeteries also make them places of admiration. Visitors without connection to those buried in the cemetery often come to admire the beauty of the sites. They treat them as parks rather then as places for the dead. As our ideas about death and burial have evolved, so has the usage and significance of the cemeteries. Cemeteries in Savannah are also significant as educational tools. Visitors travel to learn from these places that are so rich in history. The people preserved there lived through and participated in the founding of the United States, the Civil War, the Great Depression,
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Underlying the model are the factors that enable visitors to engage with cemeteries. Visitors must take time out of their lives to explore the cemeteries. Cemeteries seek to use technology to help visitors to engage with the cemeteries and their histories. And the tourism industry helps address the demand for services
THE VISITORS
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INSIGHT: FRENEMIES
FRENEMIES
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PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BOTH THE PROTECTION AND DESTRUCTION OF THE CEMETERIES.
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INSIGHT: FRENEMIES
Opportunity & How might we...?
OPPORTUNITY There is an opportunity for people to retract their own footprint on the cemetery.
HOW MIGHT WE...? How might we create a system of exchange between visitors and the cemeteries? How might we create awareness around the impact of people on the cemeteries? How might we engage the community in the preservation of the cemeteries? How might we create a sense of guardianship among visitors and Savannah residents?
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INSIGHT: FRENEMIES
SUPPORT
Support
Even after you’re dead and buried in the ground stuff happens.
When you’re only thinking about tourism, the more people that come in the cemetery and the more people that are interacting with and using it, the more things change. The roadways and paths change. People like to touch things.
To me, a cemetery always starts with good intentions. How you deal with them 200 years later, that’s a whole other thing... I think it’s almost a fantasy if you expect them to survive a thousand years.
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I couldn’t imagine, if our gates were open 24 hours, how much vandalism, or how much theft, or just hoodlums we’d have to content with if that was the case.
So my job as a conservator is to extend [the cemeteries] service life for as long as possible for future generations.
We definitely don’t like people climbing our fences because a lot of them do have bad intentions to come in and destroy things.
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INSIGHT: FRENEMIES
Concepts
CONCEPTS
An exchange program: Visitors get to walk through the cemetery and other perks if they contribute to it’s conservation. For example, trash pick up.
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A lesson plan for Savannah classrooms: The cemetery could create lesson plans about cemetery history for teacher’s to use in local schools. The children would learn about the historical people and events in Savannah’s history.
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INSIGHT: FRENEMIES
Concepts
A photography book: The cemetery could create a coffee table photography book collected from the photographers that come through the cemetery. Profits could fund conservation.
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A picnic in the cemetery: A mass picnic could be held in which locals would come, eat, and engage in simple preservation activities under the supervision of the Historical Society.
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INSIGHT: OLD IS GOLD
OLD IS GOLD
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THE CEMETERIES STRIVE TO RESTORE AND PRESERVE ALL HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF THEIR SITES.
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INSIGHT: OLD IS GOLD
Opportunity & How might we...?
OPPORTUNITY There is opportunity for cemeteries to revere the past while remaining of the moment.
HOW MIGHT WE...? How might we create a platform for old and new to encourage a perpetual dialogue? How might we celebrate the past in a contemporary way? How might we engage future generations to use the cemetery to learn from the past? How might we combat extinction? How might we use tech meaningfully as a way to depict and communicate with the past?
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INSIGHT: OLD IS GOLD
Support
SUPPORT
What we do builds up the database of information on cemeteries and helps us to explain why it is important and why we should preserve it.
Savannah is filled with people that were in the Civil War. If we put up a historical marker for everyone that was in the Civil War, we’d have a lot of historical markers.
My opinion is that everybody in our cemetery is important to us. And everybody is equally if not more important to somebody else.
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If you have all these things to do the projects, to me, you’re going to do what’s more culturally significant.
They have been taught just how to use the chemicals so when they wipe away it’s clean, but it still looks like it’s been here for years.
We have a master gardener who is an expert at air-grafting camellias and azaleas. And he does it from 150 year-old plants. So the plants we have going in now are contemporary to the start of this place.
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INSIGHT: OLD IS GOLD
Concepts
CONCEPTS
A takeaway for visitors: They can take it as they walk through the cemetery and write down their favorite epitaph or write their own epitaph if they are inspired.
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Tomstone trading cards: Visitors collect and trade cards featuring the people and tombstones of the cemetery. The cards would describe the history and motifs of the era in which the tombstone was created.
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INSIGHT: OLD IS GOLD
Concepts
A design your own funeral quiz: Visitors take the quiz and determine how their own funeral and grave site could be to reflect their personality and life.
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A cemetery scavenger hunt app: If you allow the app access to your Facebook, it will suggest who to go see in the cemetery according to your interests.
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INSIGHT: MERE MORTALS
MERE MORTALS
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CEMETERIES PROVIDE A PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND AND BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH DEATH AND THE DECEASED.
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INSIGHT: MERE MORTALS
Opportunity & How might we...?
OPPORTUNITY There is an opportunity for cemeteries to strengthen the relationship between visitors and the deceased.
HOW MIGHT WE...? How might we create a platform for communication between the living and the dead? How might we tell the stories of the dead? How might we infuse technology into the traditional cemetery to relay the identities of the deceased? How might we introduce the living to deceased strangers?
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INSIGHT: MERE MORTALS
SUPPORT
Support
I want to go on forever too but I am aware of the reality of death. That’s part of my hanging out at cemeteries. It’s like being reminded about the preciousness of life.
Even after you’re dead and buried in the ground stuff happens.
When you visit someone’s grave, it’s like visiting a relative; there is closeness.
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Bringing cemeteries into cities rather than pushing them out is a question of updating our relationships with death, not of space constraints.
Cemeteries are like church for me... It’s a reminder that life is precious.
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INSIGHT: MERE MORTALS
Concepts
CONCEPTS
An app for meeting the dead: This app would introduce you to the deceased in the cemetery. Guiding you to their plots and telling you their stories.
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A Facebook cemetery: An online portal that allows its visitors to remember, mourn, and exchange stories about the deceased. It would be an online tool for documenting the cemetery’s residents.
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INSIGHT: MERE MORTALS
Concepts
An app for facts about the cemetery: As you walk by a significant grave site, the app will send you a notification about the person, family, or plot.
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A wall of remembrance: This wall would be a place for visitors to leave prayers and notes to the deceased. It would be a collective memorial site for the community and visitors.
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INSIGHT: LESS IS... LESS
LESS IS... LESS
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PUBLIC CEMETERIES SUFFER FROM A LACK OF FISCAL AND HUMAN RESOURCES WHICH MAKES THEM UNSUSTAINABLE.
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INSIGHT: LESS IS... LESS
Opportunity & How might we...?
OPPORTUNITY There is opportunity for cemeteries to restructure to support the future.
HOW MIGHT WE...? How might we generate revenue while respecting the dead? How might we get the community to invest time and resources in the cemeteries? How might we partner with local businesses to exchange resources? How might we reevaluate the policies surrounding public cemeteries?
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INSIGHT: LESS IS... LESS
Support
SUPPORT We are fortunate to have an in-house conservation crew. But unfortunately, it’s a lot smaller than what we need.
We do accept donations... We believe in Blanch Dubois’ philosophy of life and we depend on the kindness of strangers.
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The city needs as much as it can get. They just can’t afford the upkeep.
It’s challenging as government. If it’s a private cemetery they can pretty much do whatever they want, but we don’t have that authority.
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INSIGHT: LESS IS... LESS
Concepts
CONCEPTS
An adopt-a-plot program: Locals can apply to adopt an abandoned plot and take over it’s care. They would work with the Historical Society and become a community of caretakers.
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A partnership with local businesses: Local businesses could sell cemetery-themed collectibles and products. For example, Leopold’s Ice Cream could create a “Cosmos Mariner” flavor where 10% of the proceeds goes to the cemetery.
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INSIGHT: LESS IS... LESS
Concepts
A collaboration with local schools: Cemeteries could use their local schools as a resource. They could partner with them in fund-raising efforts and history lessons.
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A memorial tile pathway: The cemetery could pave it’s pathways with memorial tiles purchased by mourners who did not choose burial.
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INSIGHT: BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP
BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP
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PEOPLE ARE INSPIRED BY THE UNIQUE BEAUTY AND SIGNIFICANCE OF CEMETERIES AND TRY TO CAPTURE IT.
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INSIGHT: BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP
Opportunity & How might we...?
OPPORTUNITY There is opportunity for cemeteries to become places of art and expression.
HOW MIGHT WE...? How might we create a community around art in cemeteries? How might we change people’s perceptions of cemeteries through beauty and art? How might we get people involved in the preservation of beautiful sites? How might we create opportunities for people to make art in cemeteries?
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INSIGHT: BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP
SUPPORT
Support
Far from shunning death, 20th Century Americans have been obsessed by it and the material culture surrounding it.
We do get some movie companies and magazines or students that come out here. Anybody interested that wants to take pictures.
Tourists are photographing out here and it’s a beautiful place to shoot.
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People like to do a lot of filming. They do a lot of background shots for films.
We’ll get some that are soon-to-be brides and they’ll come out here and want to take photos.
A couple of days ago, a woman wore a black outfit with a little umbrella like she was from the 1880’s.
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INSIGHT: BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP
Concepts
CONCEPTS
A website detailing the sculpture and architecture in the cemetery: This web presence could become a resource for art and architecture students among others.
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An auction of art created in the cemetery: Collect copies or originals of the art that is created in the cemetery and auction it to support conservation.
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INSIGHT: BEAUTIFUL BACKDROP
Concepts
An exhibition in the cemetery: Use the cemetery space to show artist’s work and draw attention to the art in the cemetery and art created there.
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An art class taught in the cemetery: The cemetery offers sketching and painting classes using the beautiful scenery as inspiration. Tuition can fund conservation.
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INSIGHT: ALIVE & KICKING
ALIVE & KICKING
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PEOPLE ENJOY GOING TO CEMETERIES FOR LEISURE AND RECREATION.
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INSIGHT: ALIVE & KICKING
Opportunity & How might we...?
OPPORTUNITY There is opportunity for cemeteries to evolve to support recreational activities.
HOW MIGHT WE...? How might we adapt the environment to support recreational activities? How might we sponsor activities in the cemetery? How might we engage groups in Savannah to utilize the site for activities? How might we formalize activities that already occur regularly in the cemetery? How might we facilitate a better experience for visitors?
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INSIGHT: ALIVE & KICKING
SUPPORT
Support
The aesthetics of cemeteries make them look like parks where you don’t have to play a game.
They [cemeteries] were an important place for recreation.
The significance of the cemetery for me is the place where you bury the dead. But it’s like a park. People come here for picnics.
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They are an important place for recreation.
Cemeteries provide solace and beauty for the living while honouring the dead.
And in Bonaventure and Greenwich, I’ve seen a lot of people jogging. It’s a great place to jog and walk. The road is beautiful.
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INSIGHT: ALIVE & KICKING
Concepts
CONCEPTS
A walking trail with colored boulder mile markers: People could walk or jog through the cemetery and know which route to take for a 1 mile, 3 mile, 5 mile trek.
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A sponsored collaboration with furniture design students: Create seating and furniture for the cemetery. This would create more visitor-friendly spaces as well as invest students in the cemetery.
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INSIGHT: ALIVE & KICKING
Concepts
A picnic area created from found materials: Use found materials like tree stumps or boulders to create seating that blends with the environment.
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A themed bookstore: The bookstore would encourage people to use the cemetery as a place for learning and leisure.
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INSIGHT: SPACE OUT
SPACE OUT
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CEMETERIES CAN OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES OF SPACE THROUGH IMAGINATION AND INNOVATION.
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INSIGHT: SPACE OUT
Opportunity & How might we...?
OPPORTUNITY There is opportunity for cemeteries to get creative in practices and development to address changing trends and lack of space.
HOW MIGHT WE...? How might we adapt the remaining space to accommodate changing trends? How might we use technology to address limited space? How might we engage professionals to create innovative solutions to space issues? How might we create burial offerings or services that use no space at all?
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INSIGHT: SPACE OUT
SUPPORT
Support
There is room in cities for cemeteries. Just build one less Chipotle or one less Target.
Single spaces. That’s probably our most common burial... After this year’s development, I’ve got about 7-8 years.
If we want to expand the vision of the economy and capitalize on cemeteries, we need to evolve how we view them.
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Long-term strategy is continued development.
I’m considering right now a mausoleum. Because that lighthouse columbarium was not my project... A great project but business-wise I don’t know if it’s the best use of our resources.
If the cemeteries do not sustain a steady stream of new business, the will not have enough money to put aside for perpetual care or for daily upkeep.
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INSIGHT: SPACE OUT
Concepts
CONCEPTS
An ancient oak ash-scattering service: Cemeteries could offer there centuries-old trees as ash-scattering ground for a fee and record the deceased as scattered in Bonaventure.
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An eternal pond: The cemetery could have a pond where rocks made from the ashes of loved ones create habitat for beautiful fish.
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INSIGHT: SPACE OUT
Concepts
A contest for architectural innovation: Engage students and professionals in a contest to explore new ways of saving space in the cemetery.
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Peaceful river ash-scattering: The cemetery could build a beautiful pier out onto the water that could be used for ash-scattering services for a fee and record the deceased as scattered in Bonaventure.
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INSIGHT: NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN
NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN
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CEMETERIES ARE EXCELLENT TOOLS FOR LEARNING BECAUSE THEY HOLD PEOPLE, SCULPTURE, ARCHITECTURE, AND NATURE FROM THE PAST.
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INSIGHT: NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN
Opportunity & How might we...?
OPPORTUNITY There is opportunity for cemeteries to become hubs of knowledge exchange.
HOW MIGHT WE...? How might we create a platform for cemetery visitors to exchange knowledge? How might we create opportunities for organizations to use the cemetery as an educational tool? How might we encourage students and professionals to participate in preserving the history of the cemeteries? How might we utilize technology to exchange knowledge across cemeteries?
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INSIGHT: NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN
SUPPORT
Support
Cemeteries can open an important window into our culture.
There is so much history. They tell a story. You can walk through the cemetery and look and the stones and recognize names on the markers that are so important to Savannah’s history, and the state of Georgia’s history, or even U.S. history.
It’s an educational tool. It’s a great place to learn about the history of Savannah. There is a story to be told in these cemeteries... I’ve been in this department for about 6 years and I learn something new everyday.
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You have all these structures in the cemetery. It’s an artifact. You have really beautiful works of art in here that you’re not going to find anywhere else.
I think high school and grad schools should be doing field trips. They should be educated and contribute.
I think the cemetery has, I don’t know if responsibility is the right word, but has a role in educating the public of the role of a cemetery.
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INSIGHT: NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN
Concepts
CONCEPTS
An app for gaining knowledge: Follow the map and point and click this app around the cemetery. It will show you the history of the cemetery and significant grave sites.
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A cemetery quiz game: Test your knowledge about the cemetery and receive hints to learn more. There is something new to learn every day.
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INSIGHT: NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN
Concepts
A student research project partnership: The cemetery partners with local schools to conduct research projects and build up the recorded history of the cemetery while creating investment among the students.
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An interactive website: Explore the cemeteries in a virtual space. Watch video, explore maps, and learn about the history of the cemetery.
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CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT BUT IT DIDN’T KILL US. THANK YOU, TAPHOPHILES! SHANNON VANDERHILL JAY PRAJAPATI FATIMA BABAR LIEN-FENG CHAN
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