Hong Kong: This skyscraper is a memorial to the 23,000 dead

Hong Kong is bursting at the seams – no wonder, because seven million people live in the city, which is almost the population of Switzerland, but Hong Kong will be 37 times the size of Switzerland. Not only is it difficult to accommodate all the living, but there is no place for the dead either. German architect has Here it is a monument Designed in the shape of a skyscraper.

The cremated remains of 23,000 people could be housed in a privately run high-rise called Chan Som, which translates to “good heart.” However, the place in this last resting place is not cheap. The place for the urn can be purchased from 47,000 Swiss francs. A standing bed for two can be bought from 67,500 francs, and a standing bed that can hold up to eight jars costs 382,000 francs, as reported by CNN.

Initially, the tractor would only be kept for ten years

In Hong Kong, private companies need government licenses to store human remains. Licenses are not easy to obtain and they expire after ten years. Shan Sum license only works until 2033.

Architect Ulrich Kirchhoff told CNN that the building is about more than just a jar room. There are rooftop terraces and meandering porches with gardens where families visiting their ancestors can stay. The undulating design is also intended to simulate traditional Chinese tombs and their preferred location on mountain slopes.

Businesswoman Margaret Zee came up with the idea when her husband died

However, the idea for the skyscraper did not come from the architect, but from Margaret Zee, a seventy-year-old businesswoman who traded in jewelry and real estate and now runs an enterprise that bears her name.

In Chinese culture, it is important to show respect to the dead. “The final journey for our loved ones is not only for them crossing into the afterlife, but also for those of us who stayed on Earth to say goodbye,” she told CNN. In 2007, when she was struggling to find a place for her husband’s memorial and funeral, she came up with the idea for Chan Sum.