PYRE
PYRE is a special Art/Architecture Pavilion inspired by the devastating impact of COVID-19 pandemic in India in early 2021 & globally.
It is a space that evokes the emotions of loss, empathy and transition of life for everyone.
The Delta variant surge claimed thousands of documented lives and millions of projected lives undocumented by lack of medical infrastructure.
The Delta variant surge claimed thousands of documented lives and millions of projected lives undocumented by lack of medical infrastructure.
Why ?
It is a dedication to all the lives lost in the land my parents hail from and beyond, with a home in their ancestral village and where I was married to an American 18 years ago. I am combining my professional expertise in architecture with my South Asian heritage to the lived experience of having my current home town of New York City go through COVID-19 devastation in spring of 2020 with over 30,000 lives lost.
What ?
PYRE is the physical reflection of the mass piles of pyres that enveloped the landscape of Indian cities and villages following the deadly Covid-19 surge in early 2020. Countless were cremated without loved ones present to perform the last rites. This memorial is a societal critique of underprivileged lives not having the means to be cremated with dignity and the state not providing this basic service in times of crisis globally. Ironically the carbon from the burnt ashes can be converted into a coveted gem which is mined in Western India and coveted by the wealthy, The Diamond. PYRE is a space that evokes the emotions of loss, empathy and transition of life for everyone.
Wow !
PYRE is a majestic space conceived to be experienced and evoke emotions internally and externally as a shape shifter from a pyre stack to an inverted outline of a tension diamond ring. Two cubes: 1) the body as the vessel and 2) soul that once merged together upon birth are now separated at death at each end with triangular void symbolising the cultural belief that at the end of life the transition of the soul leaves the body vessel where the soul evaporates to the air and the body returns to the Earth as ashes. The amazing thing here is the ashes are reincarnated to unique memorable diamonds for the mass unclaimed bodies changing the commodity back to the capitalist world to enjoy since highlighting privilege is really for the wealthy that have the liberty of time to plan for death via death insurance and funeral arrangements.
The structure of the PYRE is 36’-0” X 16’-0” X 18’-0”. A stand steel frame that is filled in with 2x4 wood. PYRE will be the first unique urn memorial that is enclosed and entirely generated using the cremation process of the wood logs that securely holds the transformed product waste of the ashes using cutting edge technology to create diamonds that are held similar to a diamond tension ring in the cente
The structure of the PYRE is 36’-0” X 16’-0” X 18’-0”. A stand steel frame that is filled in with 2x4 wood. PYRE will be the first unique urn memorial that is enclosed and entirely generated using the cremation process of the wood logs that securely holds the transformed product waste of the ashes using cutting edge technology to create diamonds that are held similar to a diamond tension ring in the cente
Future
Impact
Impact
The footprint of the PYRE is a sublime temporary resilient sanctuary serving the last rights of dignity,a place for empathy,activism and hope.
A call for action to the failing policies during the pandemic that impacted the underprivileged in India and globally and an urgent need to reflect with difficult questions.
A call for action to the failing policies during the pandemic that impacted the underprivileged in India and globally and an urgent need to reflect with difficult questions.