Fare Well

In France, public utilities play an important role in many key moments of life (birth, marriage, etc.). However the stage of death seems to be mostly ignored. There is no place or no ritual for public/civil funeral ceremonies, and bereaved people often remain lonely, facing a plethora of complex procedures and forms. How could a small number of proposals for improvements allow public services to find their place, neutral and equal for everyone, for individuals facing these complicated times, both, emotionally and technically? This project is divided into two concomitant parts within the same scenario of a public service for the accompaniment of people facing the death of their loved one.

Some procedures: This part of the project involves the facilitation of administrative procedures, and is based on the hypothesis of a possible networking of the various social actors.

• A folder, given at the same time as the death certificate at the city hall, specifies and includes the various procedures to be done. It offers a functional support, and its form, colours, and graphic elements that compose it, aim at setting a symbolic dimension and territory for the achievement of those numerous administrative tasks: it's an important act for an official but also social recognition.

A memorial ceremony: This part of the project aims at redefining multi-purpose room spaces offered by municipalities which face a growing demand from their citizens, and which don't seem adapted for this type of ceremony. This display is embodied in three simple objects, readable, and easy to install by the City Hall staff.

• A carpet restores polarity to those areas which quite often don't have one. Its proportions and shape offer different ways to compose the surrounding space and what happens in the inside. This is the space for tribute, speaking, and to farewell the deceased. The more you go towards the centre where the deceased is, the more we go towards the brighter colours. Thus, the pattern suggests a rising volume and an area of light.

• A chair cover provides the furniture with another dimension other than its strictly functional use of seating: the reception, the envelope, the comfort. It welcomes mourners and participates in the expression of a social dimension. The parts on the sides can be opened to accommodate collective seating, in order to suggest a symbol of gathering in a moment where people should support each other.

• A screen encloses space to emphasize the uniqueness of the moment beside the outdoor activity, it changes the perception of place in terms of light and sound. To evoke the notion of passage and of a next step, with its set of twisted battens , its appearance changes depending on whether you are leaving or entering the ceremony, listening to a speaker or talking to the group during moments of homage.