reliquary towers
Arrival to the reliquary towers are done by Air Ship. The pollution has made landing typical aircrafts on the ground very hazardous. The exterior cladding is composed of ceramic panels similar to traditional rice grain porcelain. The towers are positioned within the interstitial spaces between abandoned buildings and are kept suspended by structural cables.
reliquary towers
Each of the several hundred towers within the white city are assigned one of the twelve Chinese Zodiac signs (Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, or Pig). The deceased are brought to their respective facility for funerary rites. The family is greeted on the platform by a custodian and pallbearers to help carry the compostable coffin. They reach the entry of the reliquary tower by way of procession. The entrance of the structure allows for the placement of burning joss sticks.
threshold
Within the threshold is a surface that allows for the burning of ghost money as part of the commemoration tradition for the deceased. While the family prays, the coffin is lowered into the passage where the body is processed using a combination of Promession (a method of freeze drying resulting in powdered remains) and Resomation (a technique using alkaline hydrolysis resulting in a sterile liquid) procedures.
ecologarium
Experiments and research on bio-organic digitally fabricated hybrid vegetation is conducting in the lab of the ecologarium. Human DNA is being tested as a possible component of more resilient plants and crops. Using 3D printers and other methods of digital fabrication, composite synthetic and organic substrates are prototyped.
Some of the soil for growing is provided from the by-product of the Promession, and the irrigation is supplemented by the results of the Resomation. Once samples are produced they are inserted into planters and brought into the greenhouse chamber and rigging area of the ecologarium, ready to be deployed for environmental study.
hanging garden
The planters are released at various heights into the city. They are positioned at several elevations to monitor the effects and concentration levels of the smog. Repelling scientists make frequent diagnostics in situ and tend to the growth and care of the hanging garden.
columbarium
Part of the remnants from the Promession are used as material for the creation of a hunping (funerary vessel) and a plaque. The hunping is digitally fabricated using the processed remains of the deceased. The pattern, shape, and proportion are customized by the family. A commemorative plaque made from the same biological material is produced for the family to return home with. This is a modest memorial memento and an assurance that the soul of the deceased will not get lost when returning home after seven days.
The exterior of the columbarium houses the hunping in an assigned niche accessible to the family. The interior space contains the DNA archive which stores blood, skin, and hair samples of the deceased. The workshops are located at the top of the structure, this includes the bio-organic fabricators and a Chinese Sugar Painting facility where candies are produced. They are wrapped in white paper produced from the harvested pulp of the hybrid plants grown in the ecologarium, and are given to the family members before they depart the reliquary tower as a remembrance of life’s sweetness.