University of Michigan

Memorial Pod

Evelyn Chang, Jessica Kim, Matthew Zide

We begin life in water. What if our final journey could give something back to it? Inspired by the beautiful ecology of whale falls, Memorial Pod reimagines remembrance as an act of promoting new life. Rather than occupying land or contributing to our environmental footprint, each vessel is designed to become part of a living marine ecosystem.

Dr. Deepa Butoliya is an assistant professor at Stamps School of Art and Design at the University of Michigan. She is a researcher and educator in industrial design and biodesign and design research. Deepa’s research over the past 10 years has focused on critical perspectives and practices in design that are located at the intersection of models of knowledge and critical thinking emerging from multiple and global perspectives. Her research is rooted in exploring critical design practices from the global south and involves exploring the criticality embedded in the ubiquitous and very human practice of Jugaad which is a hindi term for makedo situated under severe constraints.