Alison Killing: There’s a better way to die, and architecture can help

Translator: Anna Comas-Quinn Reviewer: Òscar Aznar Alemany

I'd like to tell you a story about death and architecture.

M'agradaria explicar-vos una història sobre la mort i l'arquitectura.

A hundred years ago, we tended to die of infectious diseases like pneumonia,

Fa cent anys, ens moríem d'infeccions, com la pneumònia,

that, if they took hold, would take us away quite quickly.

que, si ens agafaven fort se'ns enduien ben de pressa.

We tended to die at home, in our own beds, looked after by family,

Normalment ens moríem a casa, al llit, cuidats per la família,

although that was the default option

això era la opció més normal

because a lot of people lacked access to medical care.

perquè la majoria no tenia accés a la medicina.

And then in the 20th century a lot of things changed.

Al segle XX van cambiar molt les coses.

We developed new medicines like penicillin

Noves medecines, com la penicil·lina,

so we could treat those infectious diseases.

permetien curar les malalties infeccioses.

New medical technologies like x-ray machines were invented.

Es van inventar noves tecnologies, com els raigs X.

And because they were so big and expensive,

I com que eren tan grans i cares,

we needed large, centralized buildings to keep them in,

calia construir grans edificis on posar-les,

and they became our modern hospitals.

que es van convertir en els hospitals moderns.

After the Second World War,

Després de la Segona Guerra Mundial,

a lot of countries set up universal healthcare systems

molts països van crear sistemes de sanitat universals

so that everyone who needed treatment could get it.

perquè tothom pogués accedir al tractament necessari.

The result was that lifespans extended from about 45 at the start of the century

I com a resultat, l'esperança de vida va passar dels 45 anys a principi de segle

to almost double that today.

a gairebé el doble avui en dia.

The 20th century was this time of huge optimism about what science could offer,

El segle XX va ser un temps d'optimisme sobre el que la ciència ens podia oferir,

but with all of the focus on life, death was forgotten,

però amb tota aquesta atenció en la vida, ens vam oblidar de la mort,

even as our approach to death changed dramatically.

inclús quan canviava totalment com veiem la mort.

Now, I'm an architect,

Jo sóc arquitecta

and for the past year and a half I've been looking at these changes

i durant l'últim any i mig he investigat aquests canvis

i el que signifiquen per l'arquitectura relacionada amb la mort.

and at what they mean for architecture related to death and dying.

Avui en dia ens morim de càncer o malalties del cor,

We now tend to die of cancer and heart disease,

and what that means is that many of us will have a long period of chronic illness

per tant, molts patirem un llarg període de malaltia crònica

at the end of our lives.

al final de la vida.

During that period,

Durant aquest període,

we'll likely spend a lot of time in hospitals and hospices and care homes.

passarem molt de temps en hospitals, hospicis i residències.

Now, we've all been in a modern hospital.

Tots hem estat en un hospital modern.

You know those fluorescent lights and the endless corridors

En coneixem els fluorescents i els passadissos interminables

and those rows of uncomfortable chairs.

i les cadires incòmodes.

Hospital architecture has earned its bad reputation.

L'arquitectura dels hospitals s'ha guanyat la mala reputació que té.

But the surprising thing is, it wasn't always like this.

Però el que sorprèn és que no sempre havia estat així.

This is L'Ospedale degli Innocenti, built in 1419 by Brunelleschi,

Aquest és L'Ospedale degli Innocenti, construït el 1419 per Brunelleschi,

who was one of the most famous and influential architects of his time.

un dels arquitectes més famosos i influents del seu temps.

And when I look at this building and then think about hospitals today,

I quan mires aquest edifici i penses en els hopitals d'avui,

what amazes me is this building's ambition.

el que em sorprèn és l'ambició d'aquest edifici.

It's just a really great building.

És ben bé un gran edifici.

It has these courtyards in the middle

Té aquests patis al mig

so that all of the rooms have daylight and fresh air,

perquè les habitacions tinguin claror i aire fresc,

and the rooms are big and they have high ceilings,

i les habitacions són grans amb els sostres alts,

so they just feel more comfortable to be in.

perquè siguin més acollidores per als pacients.

And it's also beautiful.

I és bonic també.

Somehow, we've forgotten that that's even possible for a hospital.

Sembla que ens haguem oblidat que això és possible en un hospital.

Now, if we want better buildings for dying, then we have to talk about it,

Si volem millors edificis on morir, n'hem de parlar,

but because we find the subject of death uncomfortable,

però com que el tema de la mort no ens resulta fàcil

we don't talk about it,

no en parlem,

and we don't question how we as a society approach death.

i no qüestionem com la societat ens plantegem la mort.

One of the things that surprised me most in my research, though,

Una de les coses que més em va sorprendre de la investigació

is how changeable attitudes actually are.

és la facilitat amb què canvien les actituds.

Aquest és el primer crematori del Regne Unit,

This is the first crematorium in the U.K.,

which was built in Woking in the 1870s.

construït a Woking als voltants del 1870.

And when this was first built, there were protests in the local village.

Quan el van construir, hi va haver protestes a la localitat.

Cremation wasn't socially acceptable, and 99.8 percent of people got buried.

La cremació no era acceptable socialment, el 99,8 % de la gent s'enterrava.

And yet, only a hundred years later, three quarters of us get cremated.

Ara, cent anys després, es crema en el 75 % dels casos.

People are actually really open to changing things

De fet la gent està oberta al canvi

if they're given the chance to talk about them.

si hi ha l'oportunitat de parlar-ne.

So this conversation about death and architecture

Aquesta conversa sobre la mort i l'arquitectura

was what I wanted to start when I did my first exhibition on it

és el que volia iniciar quan vaig fer la meva primera exposició

in Venice in June, which was called "Death in Venice."

a Venècia el juny, que es titulava "Mort a Venècia".

It was designed to be quite playful

La idea era que fos divertida

so that people would literally engage with it.

perquè la gent s'hi pogués implicar.

This is one of our exhibits, which is an interactive map of London

Aquí hi ha un dels objectes exposats, un mapa interactiu de Londres

that shows just how much of the real estate in the city

que mostra la quantitat del sòl a la ciutat

is given over to death and dying,

que es dedica a la mort,

and as you wave your hand across the map,

i quan hi passes la mà per sobre,

the name of that piece of real estate, the building or cemetery, is revealed.

el nom del terreny, de l'edifici o del cementiri apareix.

Another of our exhibits was a series of postcards

Un altre dels objectes exposats és una sèrie de postals

that people could take away with them.

que la gent es pot endur.

And they showed people's homes and hospitals

Mostren habitatges, hospitals,

and cemeteries and mortuaries,

cementiris i tanatoris,

and they tell the story of the different spaces

i expliquen la història dels diferents espais

that we pass through on either side of death.

pels quals passem abans i després de la mort.

We wanted to show that where we die

Volíem demostrar que on morim

is a key part of how we die.

és una part clau de com morim.

Now, the strangest thing was the way that visitors reacted to the exhibition,

El més extrany és com la gent va reaccionar a l'exposició,

especially the audio-visual works.

especialment a les parts audiovisuals.

We had people dancing and running and jumping

Hi havia gent que ballava, corria, saltava

as they tried to activate the exhibits in different ways,

intentant activar els objectes de maneres diferents

and at a certain point they would kind of stop

i hi havia un moment en què paraven

and remember that they were in an exhibition about death,

i recordaven que estaven en una exposició sobre la mort,

and that maybe that's not how you're supposed to act.

i que potser no era així com s'havien de comportar.

But actually, I would question whether there is one way

Però de fet, em pregunto si hi ha una manera

that you're supposed to act around death,

d'actuar envers la mort.

and if there's not, I'd ask you to think about what you think a good death is,

I si no, voldria saber què creieu que és una bona mort,

and what you think that architecture that supports a good death might be like,

i com hauria de ser l'arquitectura que l'acompanya,

and mightn't it be a little less like this and a little more like this?

i si hauria de ser una mica menys així i una mica més així.

Thank you.

Gràcies.

(Aplaudiments)

(Applause)