002 Gas Holders

Earth To Earth proposes a vision on an urban and architectural scale for the redevelopment and rejuvenation of gas holder bases and their surrounding territory, once again providing an essential societal infrastructure to expanding communities nationwide.

In our cities, pressure on burial grounds is intensifying. The Victorian joint stock cemeteries, established in the suburbs to replace churchyard burials, are now largely full. A 2013 survey indicated that nearly half of England’s cemeteries could run out of space within the next 20 years. Most burials now take place in out-of-town cemeteries; the increase in the number of cremations and the cultural practice of scattering ashes have meant that our cities are becoming devoid of places of remembrance, consolation and solace. In the midst of modern urban life, death is now invisible and the relationship between the living and the dead is often broken.