“Beyond The Veil” uncovers the complexities of death, as a heterotopia of ‘otherness’. The project delves into New York’s fragmented urban fabric, aiming to articulate the complex interrelations of material, cultural, and bureaucratic layers that sculpt the ceremonies of death, beginning with the transformation of Hart Island, in New York—a place with a storied past as a penal colony managed by New York’s carceral system using inmate labour for burials, and kept inaccessible until 2021 when it was transferred to the Parks Department. This initiative represents a radical shift from a longstanding policy of secretive and marginalized burials, as it opens up one of New York’s most historically restricted sites for public exploration. The city’s nuanced approach to death as an ‘othered’ realm, uncovers how governance and economic imperatives relegate the cessation of life to the urban fringe, erasing the richness of ancestral rites and identities.

Our endeavour rearticulates the discourse on mortality in New York through a phased approach to terramation, or human composting, in dialogue with the looming threat of sea level rise, while also reimagining rituals associated with death which are overly burdened by regulation and scarcity of burial plots. Through the adoption of resilient green burial practices of terrramation, the ecosystem is progressively rehabilitated by enhancing soil quality. This project envisions a responsive burial site ecosystem that strengthens the bond between the burial plot and its previously dormant surroundings to resonate with the individual and communal journeys of grief and acceptance, aligning with the natural cycles of decomposition over time. This study examines how city policies and economic forces have marginalized death, diluting traditional rituals and identities. It counters the commodification and spatial segregation of death, calling for renewed engagement with mortality that integrates into the urban mosaic, fostering a richer dialogue with and support of the end of life. “Beyond The Veil” challenges and seeks to redefine the future of our burial practices, prompting a reflection on the potential of one’s mortal remains as a testament to resilience, ecological renewal, and remembrance throughout the continuum of time.