Over My Dead Body

Editorial Pick in the 2023 ARCHI-HACK: OIL PLATFORM Competition

emerymcclure architecture with Adam Ortego

Capitalizing on the rig's large surface area, ability to extract materials, and structural capability to hold machinery, Over My Dead Body repurposes the oil rig to perform two new functions: funerals and waste collection. Traditional burial in cemeteries is unsustainable; thus, this project employs the process of aquamation to remove the soft tissue of the dearly departed and bury their cleaned bones in the sea. Gabion coffins of bones are stacked to form burial mounds, eventually forming barrier islands that protect our coastlines. 

On the top-level, “Funeral Deck”, family and friends arrive to celebrate and mourn as they wish. On the middle level, “Aquamation Floor”, the dead are processed. On the lowest level, “Gabion Interment”, bones are laid to rest in gabion coffins and dispatched to the sea.

The collection and processing of plastic waste powers this burial process. Sea rumbas gather sea-bound plastics and, when full, return to the rig. Plastics are then lifted into the rig's hydrothermal liquefaction machinery and processed into energy for aquamation and funeral services. Over My Dead Body harnesses the rig architecture, both spatially and mechanically, to process ocean pollutants and create an alternate, more sustainable way to bury the dead.

 KeyWords: #AlternativeEnergySources #FuneraryRitual #OceanBoundPlastic #BarrierIslands #HydrothermalLiquefaction