A complete redesign of a traditional mausoleum with its glass, steel and strategic lighting

Designing for the dead, or at least the containers that will carry their remains, is untouched by any innovation. When we imagine a picture of a casket or a tomb, it always needs to be accomplished in some expensive materials, with classical flourishes and a physical heaviness meant perhaps to convey the importance of the deceased. This sense opulence is largely unchallenged since we feel compelled to give it all for our departed loved ones.

But with the available technology and the enthusiasm of our forward-thinking designers to recontextualize objects, meaning in the light of the planet’s dwindling resources and the commonsensical nature of modernism, there’s no reason why an entire face of a mountain should be quarried for marble just to make a couple of mausoleums or for a coffin to weigh like a car. Two designers, Brian Tenorio and Archt. James Jao, feel that it’s about time for an intervention.

Tenorio, who established his name in the local scene as a shoe designer, has just released two casket designs under the brand Lux Mortem, available in major funeral homes this month. Now New-York based, Tenorio thinks that as a designer, he is meant not only to make beautiful things, “but to illuminate the meaning in human experiences.” What else makes human experiences feel more exquisite and precious than transience? 

Initially, the multi-awarded designer had to overcome the surprised reaction by many when they found out that he was designing caskets. He was emboldened by it, in fact, and “only made me more interested to pursue designing this collection. I’d like to think that I’ve somehow contributed to the Filipino lifestyle by applying modern aesthetics to a very significant part of life.”

The current caskets—Emerald and Radiance—were inspired by gems. A top view reveals a planar surface surrounded by small, angular definitions, exactly how a precious stone would be cut. Tenorio asked himself why there are caskets in the first place (“dignified containers of the dead”) and decided not to depart from the accepted aesthetics in designing one: he just made it look sleek and sophisticated. 

“One really very cool thing about designing caskets is that you must design not based on trends but on good design and established aesthetics,” he says. “Therefore for these caskets, I have created designs that I think will last. The appeal is timeless, the sensibilities are fine and precise. Every angle was thought over, measured and calculated, refined, redrawn, and polished.”

Interestingly, a personal experience underscores Tenorio’s desire to design caskets. “My mother used to be in the pre-need and memorial industries,” he narrates. “And when I was still in grade school and in high school, she’d use to tag me along in her meetings and sales calls. She would also always get asked by friends to help out when someone passes away – knowing that she has experience and some know-how in preparing for accommodations in memorial services. We’ve actually gone shopping for caskets with the family members of the departed. It was somewhat interesting for me because I knew somehow that I was helping out in easing the pain and grief by helping them choose caskets.”

Next year will be a busy year for Lux Mortem as the brand will release three new lines. The Mother of Pearl Collection is a premium designer series of individually handcrafted caskets lined with exotic textile from the Far East. Ecologically designed pieces with an emphasis on design-inflected sustainable production and manufacturing constitute the “Eco-Lux Series.” Last is “Hinabi,” a line of evocative, hand-made coffins. More information about Tenorio’s design is available in www.luxmortem.com

Archt. Jao, on the other hand, has designed a mausoleum which embodies a modernist sensibility. Working from an already existing tomb (following Chinese geomancy specifications), he created a structural envelope made of concrete, glass, steel, and marble that is suffused by both natural and artificial light. An entrance—which begins with a brief ramp and proceeds with alternating colonnade of pillars and bamboo plants—directs a visitor to the main chamber where he can say his prayer and contemplate the memories of the dead while seated on a cantilevered bench slotted between the columns. A bone chamber is found on the backwall that also doubles as a counter for flowers and offerings.

“The concept is to make the mausoleum contemporary, cutting-edge and relaxed,” Archt. Jao says. “I introduced an eco-dimension by putting LED lighting, which consumes about 100 watts for the entire 40 square meters of space. Light-sensitive solar panels will turn off the light as soon as dawn breaks—it being lighted even through the night is a touch which I think adds ambience and solemnity to the place.” 

What makes it thoroughly modern is the absence of any undue ornamentation (no classical pillars and statues of angels here), the evocative use of lines and the over-all white theme (even the marbles and Spanish tiles are white). A surprising detail is the halo of drop lights that crowns the tomb—a subdued reference to eternity and the importance of the deceased to those she left behind.

And because the balcony allows the visitor to see rolling terrain through glass, the mausoleum doesn’t feel constricting. Yes, the focus may be on the loved one but a view of the world affirms the eternal connection between the dead and the living.