Designing and constructing a last residence

It was the middle of the summer when the phone rang with a request for a project different from the others. D. had just lost his beloved wife and wanted to prepare the last residence for her.

We were surprised at first as it was the first time to design and construct a grave. The whole situation had some difficulties in managing conflicting emotions. On the one hand death, as something people are usually not familiar with, causes cold feelings and on the other hand working with plants and nature in general causes some kind of warmth and vividness. Our goal in this project was to find the way to connect these two opposites.

From the beginning D. tried not to put me in a difficult position and make me feel uncomfortable, which often happens while having that kind of conversation. D. knew exactly what he wanted and most of all why he wanted to do something different. He wanted something that will express his wife and that will be his last present for her. She was a simple person, warm and friendly, with so much liveliness, so for us those characteristics were the keywords we should concentrate on.

In the design these keywords were transformed into simple lines with warm materials and into a combination of plants that express the vividness. The final result, as you can see on the photos, was more than expected. It was exactly what D. thought of and wanted to give to his wife as the last present.

We received many touching and unique thanks from him and his family. We were happy to contribute in our own way to D.’s goal and to relief his heart a bit.  Thank you very much D. for your kind words and it was a pleasure meeting you.