Last landscapes: the architecture of the cemetery in the west: designs for death.By Ken Worpole. London: Reaktion Books. 2003. [pounds sterling]22 The subtitle sub·ti·tle n. 1. A secondary, usually explanatory title, as of a literary work. 2. A printed translation of the dialogue of a foreign-language film shown at the bottom of the screen. tr.v. is misleading: Worpole's book is concerned less about architecture than with meaning in landscapes and with problems of commemoration after Modernism failed to rise to the challenge (and indeed, for the most part, ignored it). After all, the Modern Movement aggressively promoted the obliteration A destruction; an eradication of written words. Obliteration is a method of revoking a Will or a clause therein. Lines drawn through the signatures of witnesses to a will constitute an obliteration of the will even if the names are still decipherable. of the past. Regimes such as those of Soviet Communism and National Socialism National Socialism or Nazism, doctrines and policies of the National Socialist German Workers' party, which ruled Germany under Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1945. realized how important was communal memory to a culture: that is why in the Soviet Union so many burial-grounds were deliberately destroyed, and why, during the Holocaust, industrialized in·dus·tri·al·ize v. in·dus·tri·al·ized, in·dus·tri·al·iz·ing, in·dus·tri·al·iz·es v.tr. 1. To develop industry in (a country or society, for example). 2. cremation cremation, disposal of a corpse by fire. It is an ancient and widespread practice, second only to burial. It has been found among the chiefdoms of the Pacific Northwest, among Northern Athapascan bands in Alaska, and among Canadian cultural groups. was an added obscenity to mass-murder. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Yet Architecture began with the Tomb. Today, perhaps in contemporary Britain more than anywhere, death has been marginalized (except for purposes of entertainment), and cremation prevents an architectural response to the mysteries of death, because British crematoria are designed to pretend to be anything but what they are, and mourners are denied a ceremonial climax. Furthermore, there is usually no connection between crematorium cre·ma·to·ri·um n. pl. cre·ma·to·ri·ums or cre·ma·to·ri·a A furnace or establishment for the incineration of corpses. crematorium Noun pl -riums or buildings and landscapes, and entire ensembles are feebly suburban and meaningless. Worpole touches upon the importance of meaning in the disposal of the dead from early times to the present day, and his wife's photographs often evoke something of what is lacking in the banalities of contemporary British celebrations of death. Last Landscapes would have gained in authority if more care had been taken over the proof-reading. One historian, often mentioned, has his name recorded correctly only occasionally, and there are other errors (the German is confused with the Austro-Hungarian Empire) as well as a poor Index. However, it contains many truths and insights on which to ponder, and could help to stimulate much-needed changes in the way we design for death. Book reviews from this and recent issues of The Architectural Review The Architectural Review is a monthly international architectural magazine published in London since 1896. Articles cover the built environment which includes landscape, building design, interior design and urbanism as well as theory of these subjects. can now be seen on our website at www.arplus.com and the books can be ordered online, many at special discount. |
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