Mausoleum Tower & Chapel

This conceptual proposal for a skyscraper mausoleum provides a more efficient land-conserving alternative to traditional cemeteries. It contains not only crypts and urns but also archival storage of information. A digital vault, networked to redundant servers, includes images, biographies, letters, videos, and other details on the entombed. This anthropological record is available to relatives, descendants, and historians for visits or study. The tower is a 1,000-foot-tall stone-clad structure topped with a non-denominational chapel. The shell of the building is constructed first, and the hollow space below the chapel is filled with crypts and urns over time. The exterior topology of the form uses non-linear numeric progression and subtle angles to express stability and time progression. The overall shape subtly references a mythical obelisk, simultaneously traditional and futuristic. Triangular atria punctuate the walls for peaceful meditation and viewing the interred's archived history. The chapel integrates art with architecture to create a complex, dynamic space for deeper spiritual engagement. Sponsor: Gwenda Jay Gallery