Funeral parlours on British high streets are in dire need of a makeover. Attitudes towards death and grief have not progressed since the Victorian era and Exit Here represents an attempt to modernise this experience for everyone. We design well-lit, comfortable spaces for the places that we work, rest and play, so why not when we are saying goodbye to a loved one? Transit Studio was commissioned by Oliver Peyton – of Peyton & Byrne – to reimagine the way people engage with death and break down a series of taboos that have persisted in our culture for hundreds of years. Design has the power to achieve this by framing space with sensitive, natural materials and colours that produce a calming effect. It is important to make these spaces open and accessible to all, and this can be achieved by using simple forms and references to different cultures. The shopfront itself is as open and welcoming as possible to encourage people to enter. Crossing the threshold can sometimes be difficult but here a simple blue-framed portal guides visitors into a plain white space. Inside, a generous curved corridor creates an open lobby to link two new private meeting spaces – with one room set as a living room, and the other as a dining room and connected to the contemplation space. The cheerful colours and timber floor accentuate the accessibility of the spaces, with comfortable pieces of contemporary and vintage furniture, and some feature lighting. The space has the eclectic feeling of a home, accessorised with prints of vintage star maps and constellations to provide a backdrop of an ethereal nature, taking inspiration from other worlds. It was vital that trust and privacy played a key role in the ambience of certain areas. We therefore designed a folding timber privacy screen for the windows, made by Studio Wilson-Copp, which can be left open to show the interiors to the street to create the openness and engagement, whilst at the same time offering complete discretion when closed for a private meeting. The internal spaces should aid conversations about the best ways to honour and celebrate someone’s life and so we rejected the idea of someone sitting behind a desk for a more collaborative and democratic room. Even the shape of the urn and casket has been reimagined for this project. The grim silhouette of the traditional tapered form of the latter has been replaced with a more minimal straight-edged box, with rounded edges. This comes in a variety of finishes and custom colours, including a hand painted design inspired by the Day of The Dead celebrations using classic elements such as the calaveras (the representations of human skulls) and marigolds (flor de muerto) are used throughout the design. Exit Here has kickstarted a process of rethinking the design of funeral parlours in the UK and shift attitudes towards death, focusing rather on a celebration of life. This simple retail unit acts as a clear signal of how contemporary forms, colours and materials can radically reshape our experiences at the most difficult of times.
Exit Here
Transit Studio
Silver
Bronze
Silver
Shortlisted
1 / 10
Sergio Mannino
Founder
at Sergio Mannino Studio
Everything in this project is remar...
9
8
9
5
7.75
Nasim Köerting
Head of Design
at The Office Group (TOG)
10 out of 10 for innovation, never...
10
8
8
7
8.25
Esra Lemmens
Founder & Design Strategist
at Esra Lemmens Agency
9
8
8
6
7.75
Caro Lundin
Co-founder & Creative Director
at ARC Club
I can only echo what has been said....
9
8
7
6
7.5
Amrita Mahindroo
Director
at DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo Architects
It is so rare to see design with Em...
10
9
9
7
8.75
Anne-Laure Pingreoun
Founder
at Alter-Projects
Loving this! This industry is in di...
9
8
9
7
8.25
Roel Slabbers
Interior Architect Co-Founder
at De Nieuwe Context
7
8
7
6
7
Waad El Hadidy
Design Director
at SH Hotels and Resorts/Starwood Capital Group
Kudos for the innovation. And I app...
8
6
6
6
6.5
Kai LIU
Founder & Design Director
at RIGI design
7
7
8
7
7.25
Shao Feng
Architectural Photographer
at SFAP
Although the design of the project...
9
8
8
6
7.75
Martijn Hoogendijk
owner / creative director / designer
at Martijn Hoogendijk
Great topic, designed with an open...
8
8
7
5
7
Venelin Kokalov
Design Principal and Principal-in-Charge
at Revery Architecture
A positive interpretation of what i...
7
8
7
6
7
Sergio Mannino
Founder
at Sergio Mannino Studio
6
7
8
5
6.5
Nasim Köerting
Head of Design
at The Office Group (TOG)
6
7
7
7
6.75
Waad El Hadidy
Design Director
at SH Hotels and Resorts/Starwood Capital Group
7
6
5
6
6
Esra Lemmens
Founder & Design Strategist
at Esra Lemmens Agency
7
7
7
5
6.5
Caro Lundin
Co-founder & Creative Director
at ARC Club
6
7
7
5
6.25
Amrita Mahindroo
Director
at DROO - Da Costa Mahindroo Architects
6
7
6
5
6
Shao Feng
Architectural Photographer
at SFAP
7
7
7
6
6.75
Anne-Laure Pingreoun
Founder
at Alter-Projects
7
8
8
7
7.5
Roel Slabbers
Interior Architect Co-Founder
at De Nieuwe Context
7
6
6
6
6.25
Kai LIU
Founder & Design Director
at RIGI design
5
5
5
5
5
Martijn Hoogendijk
owner / creative director / designer
at Martijn Hoogendijk
7
7
6
5
6.25
Venelin Kokalov
Design Principal and Principal-in-Charge
at Revery Architecture
6
7
7
6
6.5
Rosie Morley
Principal
at Fender Katsalidis
Brave name and sense of identity. H...
8
8
7
7
7.5
Matteo Renna
Founder
at matteorenna | studio
Really nice innovation for the indu...
8
7
7
6
7
Agata Pilip
Senior professional brand creative retail store design
at Nike
Brave approach to such an uneasy su...
8
8
7
7
7.5
Jelle Sapulete
Design Director
at Adidas
8
7
8
7
7.5
Florian Seidl
Design Manager
at Lavazza
I love the whole idea. Definitely a...
9
8
9
8
8.5
Designer
Client
Exit Here
Floor area
120 ㎡
Completion
2019
Photographer
Rotating Screen Joinery
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