Sustainable After-Death Centers

Solving global warming takes more than just trees

Olson Kundig Architects developed the design for Recompose, an after-death facility in Seattle that sets itself apart as the first-of-its-kind center to offer “natural organic reduction” services on-site. At the facility, human remains will be converted to soil in roughly 30 days, offering a more sustainable alternative to cremation or conventional burial options.

The patent-pending process of creating nutrient-rich soil involves placing bodies in a controlled, modular and reusable vessel, covered in wood chips, to allow for aeration and decomposition. According to Recompose, "Everything—including bones and teeth—is transformed. That’s because the system creates the perfect environment for thermophilic microbes and beneficial bacteria to break everything down quite quickly.”

Notably, Recompose Seattle is possible because Washington became the first US state to legalize human composting as of 2018.