Not In My Backyard

2020

As the upsurge of death due to the Covid-19 pandemic continues to overwhelm healthcare sectors and funeral homes all around the world, there has been an increasing competition for space between the dead and the living.

Not In My Backyard reimagines mortuaries in land-scarce Singapore and challenges the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) mindset where local residents are often reluctant to have death facilities built near their residences due to superstitions and the inauspiciousness surrounding the topic of death that are prevalent in Asian societies. It seeks to change the negative stereotype towards death facilities by creating a community area for recreational activities and a pleasant transitional space from residential areas to the St. Michael’s Bus Terminal.

In response to Covid-19, several states in the US have resorted to using refrigerated trucks as temporary mortuaries, thus raising issues of sanitisation, respect for the dead. In order not to be swept by future pandemics and to be in anticipation of Singapore’s rise in natural death rates due to our aging population, Not In My Backyard strengthens our preparedness in the healthcare sector by acting as a secondary mortuary for Tan Tock Seng Hospital, whose current mortuary capacity is 30.

The mortuary and cold room

A dialogue is created between the mortuary and the cold room through the sense of mystery that shrouds both structures as the activities happening within are not known to public. As both facilities are kept at a low temperature, it further gives an oppurtunity to for the two areas to work together in facilitating the creation and dissemination of vaccines in the later part of the pandemic.

Physical 1:100 scale model