TEMPUS FUGIT, MEMENTO MORI

M U U IT, M T I

THE REVITALIZATION OF MOUNT MORIAH CEMETERY

A SENIOR PROJECT BY NATALIE DE ROSA

SPRING 2023

ADVISOR: RICHARD KING

merican culture has turned away from death. Modern medicine and funerary practices have practically removed mourning tradition and limited the interactions with the deceased. The Rural cemeteries of the 19th Century served two purposes: A final resting place for the dead and a public gathering space for the living. Modern society has shifted away from these mourning rituals and practices, treating cemeteries as a plot of land with little to no use except when someone dies. Public green space is a sparse luxury in the urban environment. It can be purposeful for both the living and the dead. Revitalizing an existing cemetery can act as a bridge between life and death in the 21st Century. This project provides an approach to these concepts, bridging life and death together while providing a new approach to burial options and what happens to the burial plot following decomposition. Death is inevitable, as the Latin adage s i

o o i states, “Ti i s. o i i

RESEARCH

SITE ANALYSIS

SITE CONCEPTS

DESIGNING THE FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF

ACCEPTANCE: THE BURIAL TOWER

ON DEATH & DYING: WHAT THE DYING HAVE TO TEACH DOCTORS, NURSES, CLERGY & THEIR OWN FAMILIES

DEATH: THE FINAL STAGE OF GROWTH

BRION MEMORIAL CEMETERY

ARCHITECT LOCATION COMPLETED

TYPOLOGY

GROSS AREA

POZZO DI SAN

ARCHITECT

LOCATION COMPLETED

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger Italy

ARCHITECT LOCATION COMPLETED

TYPOLOGY

GROSS AREA

Michael Heizer

Nevada 2022

Land Art Sculpture

.75 SMi

STEILNESET MEMORIAL

ARCHITECT LOCATION COMPLETED

TYPOLOGY

GROSS AREA

Peter Zumthor

Norway 2011 Memorial

MEMORIAL TO ENSLAVED LABORERS

ARCHITECT LOCATION COMPLETED

TYPOLOGY

GROSS AREA

Howeler + Yoon

University of Virginia

2020

Memorial

5,024 SF

SUMMER PAVILION

ARCHITECT LOCATION COMPLETED

TYPOLOGY

GROSS AREA

MUSEO LA CONGIUNTA

ARCHITECT LOCATION COMPLETED

TYPOLOGY

GROSS AREA

Peter Märkli

Switzerland

1992

Museum

3,650 SF

THE YOGA PAVILION

Kamp Arhitektid

Estonia 2020 Pavilion, House 710 SF

ARCHITECT LOCATION COMPLETED

Nyréns Arkitektkontor

ount Moriah Cemetery was established in 1855 at 54 acres as a nondenominational, inclusive, accessible middle-class cemetery. Stephen Decatur Button designed the Norman Castellated Brownstone gate house that still stands today. The US Department of Veteran Affairs purchased The Soldiers Lot in Philadelphia and The Naval Plot in Yeadon. The cemetery continued to grow as Philadelphia and Yeadon expanded, and in the 1990s The Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery Non-Profit Organization formed. In 2004, Horatio Jones, President of the Mount Moriah Cemetery Association, died, leading the cemetery to become abandoned in 2011. The Mount Moriah Cemetery Preservation Corporation formed the following year, and activists Paulette Rhone, Donna Morelli, and Ken Smith blocked dumping trucks from entering the cemetery. Since then, The Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery have presented a plan to convert the cemetery into a nature sanctuary. Today it is defined as a Level 1 ArbNet Arboretum at 160 acres with approximately 150,000 burial plots.

Trolley Routes/Stops

TRANSIT ROUTES VEHICULAR APPROACH

Bus Routs/Stops

Site Adjacent Circulation

Site Approach Circulation

Zoning Classification

ZONING PHILADELPHIA

Philadelphia Zoning Code 2022

RSA-2 - Residential Single Family Attached-2

SP-PO-A - Recreation

Lot Size3,941,498 SF // 90 acres

Building Area1,576,600 SF // 36 acres

Max. Occupied Area40%

Min. Front Setback15 FT

Min. Side Yard16 FT

Min. Rear Yard Depth20 FT

Max. Height38 FT

Building TypeDetached, Semi-Detached

ZONING OVERLAYS

The Philadelphia Code

Accessory Sign Control

Title 14-904(4) - Special Controls for Cobbs Creek, Roosevelt Boulevard, and DPR Land

Applies within boundaries of Roosevelt Boulevard, Cobbs Creek Parkway, Fairmount Park, or Cobbs Creek Park

Applies within land under jurisdication of DPR

Signage must be in compliance with DPR regulations

Signage must be approved by Art Commission

Airport Hazard Control Title 14-511

No building, structure, or object shall exceed Title 14 CFR - FAR Part 77 height regulations

No marking or lighting shall have an adverse effect or air navagation safety as determined by FAA

Open Space and Natural Resources

Title 14-704(4)(c)(.1) - Flood Protection

No enroachment except docks, public utilities, trails, roadways, and bridges are permitted

Open Space and Natural Resources

Title 14-704(4)(c)(.2) - Flood Protection

Any new construction shall have the lowest floor elevation elevated up to the regulatory flood elevation of 18" Anything below Base Flood Elevation should be floodproofed, hydro-resistant, and firmly anchored

Open Space and Natural Resources

Title 14-704(5) - Waterfront Setbacks

All development shall provide a waterfront setback of at least 50FT wide from the top-of-bank for all watercourses

OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATION AND USE

IBC 2021 Chapter 3

Occupancy (303, 304)

*Small Buildings and Tenant Spaces (303.1.1)

A building or tenant space used for assembly purposes with an occupant load of less than 50 persons shall be classified as a group B occupancy

GENERAL BUILDING HEIGHTS AND AREAS

Maximum Number of Stories (504.4)

Allowable Area Factor (506.2)

FIRE-RESISTANCE RATING REQUIREMENTS

IBC 2021 Chapter 6 - Section 601

Zoning Classification

ZONING YEADON

Yeadon Borough Zoning Code

INS - Institutional District

ROS - Recreational/Open Space District

Lot Size3,499,200 SF // 70 acres

Building Area1,749,600 SF // 40 acres

Max. Occupied Area50%

Min. Front Setback40 FT

Min. Side Yard20 FT

Min. Rear Yard Depth40 FT

Max. Height50 FT

Residential Multi-Family Open Space/Recreation

MEANS OF EGRESS

IBC 2021 Chapter 10

Institutional Industrial

Other Egress Capacity (1005.3.2)

Spaces with One Exit/Access to Exits Maximum Occupant Load (1006.2.1)

Spaces with One Exit/Access to Exits Maximum Path of Travel (1006.2.1)

Minimum Number of Exits or Access to Exits per Story (1006.3.3)

Egress Stairway Capacity (1005.3.1) Two Exits or Exit Access Doorways (1007.1.1)

Illumination Levels Under Normal Power (1008.2.1)

Accessible Exit Access Stairways (1009.3)

Size of Doors (1010.1.1)

Stairway Headroom (1011.3)

Egress Ramp Slope (1012.2)

Egress Vertical Rise (1012.4)

Egress Ramp Width and Capacity (1012.5.1)

Egress Ramp Headroom (1012.5.2)

Exit Access Travel Distance (1017.2)

Minimum Corridor Width (1020.3)

Dead End Corridors (1020.5)

Any combination of exit access shall be places apart equal to less than one-half of the length of the maximum overall diagonal dimensions of the building

Site Experience

Atop a hill, one overlooks the grounds of the cemetery without a focus on the graves. The wall of trees minimizes the view but creates a strong separation between the manicured and natural areas of the site. One can look around at the surrounding site while feeling the breeze and sunlight around them.

Site Experience

The unmaintained areas of the site provide a unique relationship between the experience of nature and cemeteries. These overgrown areas create shade and security, creating a contained and hidden experience for the user. These areas could be explored further by someone with proper means but generally are not recommended by the primary users.

Site Experience

The cemetery topography provides expansive views while highlighting the natural, uncleared areas. This area creates allaround visibility of graves of different scales and orientations. The openness provides ample sunlight while still being towards the center of the cemetery, limiting unwanted noise.

WOODED SWALE DARK MANICURED NATURAL

BERM BRIGHT OPEN MOVEMENT

EXPANSIVE NOISY

NATURE-FOCUSED

VISIBLE HIDDEN

DARK

WO ODED NATURAL CONTAINED SILENT

EXPANSIVE MANICURED OPEN BERM SWALE BRIGHT MOVEMENT STILL STILL

GRAVE-FOCUSED HIDDEN

NATURE-FOCUSED NO ISY

DARK MANICURED NATURAL

CONTAINED

WOODED SWALE

GRAVE-FOCUSED

BERM BRIGHT OPEN EXPANSIVE VISIBLE HIDDEN

SI LENT

NATURE-FOCUSED NOISY MOVEMENT

Site Experience

This area of the site is covered by trees and provides a unique experience of protection from the elements with close proximity to graves. The natural landscape is easy to traverse, and provides views to other areas of the cemetery, providing a place of refuge from the main path, but not completing isolating.

Site Experience

Cobbs Creek provides a unique experience to the user on-site. The creek is at the bottom of a steep slope, completely separating it from the conditions of the rest of the cemetery. The approach is covered by overgrown foliage as the creek is visible to sunlight. The unique experience created is an opportunity to be in touch with nature, forgetting your proximity to the cemetery.

Site Experience

This area highlights the mausoleums and obelisks at the bottom of the hill. The user feels small compared to the overbearing nature of the monuments. The immediate area is exposed to sunlight while surrounding the user by the graves. Sitting at the bottom of the hill reinforces the idea of feeling tiny against the forces of the world.

ACCEPTANCE

DEPRESSION BARGAINING

ANGER

DENIAL

Veil

Acceptance Garden Vaults Vaults Vaults Vaults Vaults Vaults

YEAR 0

YEAR 1-30

Sarcophagus

Funerary Space

YEAR 30

TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN

FUNERARY SPACE FLOOR PLAN

PROJECT CONCEPT

The project successfully addresses the stages of grief well and provides physical intervention to emotions. Appreciation of interventions touching the sky and the individual symbolism per religious beliefs. Bar of hope overrides all the stages of grief, how can that be carried across the design of all the stages? Does the project have a sense of shock, and how can that affect the user experience from the start?

CIRCULATION

The project has a sense of directional path but allows people to experience it in whatever order they want. Good location of interventions to allow a user to bypass all interventions if it’s triggering or upsetting. There is a set sequence without the need for linearity, although it is implied.

RENDERINGS AND GRAPHICS

Great drawings and narrative with a sophisicated and mature approach to a unique concept. Appreciation of material choices and how they respond to their respective stage and the overall project. Graphics and video walkthrough gave a full picture of the concept and representation of the process. Acceptance Tower provides great contrast of light to a physically emotionally dark place.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Embrace not defining or understanding the reaction to the interventions because they’re experienced individually. Intentions may change overt time and it’s good the project has the ability to weather and decay with time.

F TI

This project challenged how I approach design and what implications exist with architectural development. Every week I saw a new opportunity to take my project further and begin to open up the discussion around death and dying. I think this project provides a discussion around mortality that is generally lost within America today. I appreciate the feedback from my jurors and their comments regarding my project. I feel that the concept of hope was felt throughout the project with the overall experience rather than as a physical manifestation. The “shock” of the project comes from visiting the cemetery itself, as it’s a shocking and uncomfortable experience. The interventions may have a different emotional response from each user, and that’s the point, there’s no expected or direct correlation to each stage of grief and how someone reacts to it.

NATALIE DE ROSA

natalied110@comcast.net

/natalie-de-rosa

/natalied110

/natalies_studio

https://natalied110.wixsite.com/natalie

DREXEL UNIVERSITY

WESTPHAL COLLEGE OF MEDIA ARTS AND DESIGN

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN, AND URBANISM