Memorial Gardens Making More Space
Lisa Simmons, Architarium, Customer Service
November 22, 2010

Any engineer or scientist will tell you that it is physically impossible to “make space” but memorial gardens are finding a way!

The media increasingly carries stories about communities running out of burial space.  Traditionally, burial has involved a casket which involves considerable land use. Most state statutes specify a minimal burial plot size. When a memorial garden is full, the community must often pursue more land for subsequent needs.

As an alternative, communities are now investigating how to be more efficient at using existing land. Of course, mausoleums (or crypts) allow vertical burial above land and therefore use less land. But mausoleums are structures and are a more expensive burial option as a result. Vibrant cities, like London, have considered “double decker” burials. In fact, some in-ground vault systems are built to stack coffins. Other locations, such as Malaysia, have proposed vertical burials, although the logistics aren’t quite clear. Yet other cultures are amenable to temporary grave use, after which the remains are cremated and given to the family.

Increasingly, Architarium is being contacted by memorial gardens which want to use columbariums to add more burial spaces to existing land. This approach is complimented by the rising propensity toward cremation in the US. Cremation allows a range of burial (or “inurnment”) possibilities. Most common is a columbarium with individual niches. Note that an individual niche may be able to contain multiple urns, depending on the niche and urn sizes. Architarium’s columbarium system is available in a number of styles: wall insert, wall add-on, ground niches and freestanding niches. And Architarium’s system can be built in a wide variety of configurations to fit existing spaces. Another less common approach for cremain inurnment is a cinuary: a common vault for multiple cremains. Cinuaries are used in several situations: for families who want to be together and for communities seeking an inexpensive burial option. Scattering gardens are inexpensive as well. But they require some protection and maintenance to look good over time. Some people also object to seeing the actual cremains, which may small but recognizable bone fragments.

While land use management is commendable, memorial gardens frequently other reasons for retrofitting. Burials bring income needed for maintenance. Some, but not all, memorial gardens will have “perpetual care”, funded by an invested portion of burials. Adding new spaces to a memorial garden is also a good opportunity to do restoration, attracting attention to the memorial garden for both burial and visitation.