Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative - Humanitarian Technology (HT)
Furniture-coffin
LEI has taken the lead in developing dual-use coffins as furniture for environmental purposes.
“ People purchase a new coffin for cremation, which is a waste of resources......(We hope) people can have a set of environmentally friendly bookshelves that literally last a lifetime, and then accompany them for the funeral rituals"
Design Concept
Coffins represent different values, religious backgrounds, and stories across different cultures and customs, which make the burial process more meaningful. However, purchasing a new coffin for cremation could be a waste of resources. Lingnan Entrepreneurship Initiative (LEI) is collaborating with Forget Thee Not, a social enterprise promoting green burial and funerals, to design furniture that can be conveniently reassembled into coffins. The team aims to add a personal and heartfelt touch to honor the deceased, and the coffins are also more ecologically sustainable and cost-effective than the traditional funeral and burial process.
- As the first prototype, LEI designed a bookshelf to house ornaments, books, and documents, which can easily be converted into a coffin.
- The coffins are made of sustainable, high-quality birch and spruce plywood from northern European forests, and fulfill strict requirements for wood-based materials in terms of environmental friendliness, strength, and durability.
- The project also encourages end-of-life pre-planning within the family to achieve the goal of a good death and to promote inter-generational harmony.
A Glimpse of the Furniture-Coffins
Looking Foward
- The team is planning to organize public education events and workshops to promote coffins as furniture and planning for end-of-life care.
Media
03/2021 | Bookshelves: a new coffin option [Full version starts from 68’15”] | RTHK |
03/2021 | Lingnan University in Hong Kong develops eco-responsible furniture-coffin to promote green funerals | Asia Research News |
03/2021 | 香港嶺南大學研發環保「傢俬棺材」 | Hong Kong Commercial Daily (Video) |
03/2021 | 嶺大研「傢俬棺材」 書架改裝棺木火化 | Sing Tao Education |
03/2021 | 嶺大環保傢俬 書架可變棺材 | Economic Journal |
03/2021 | Executive日記——萬般「帶得走」 亦能愛永留 嶺大研傢俬棺材 大膽又環保 | Headline Daily |
03/2021 | 嶺大推綠色殯葬 環保書架製棺材 | Ta Kung Pao |
03/2021 | 【綠色殯葬】嶺南大學研發環保「傢俬棺材」 特製書架可改裝成棺材 | ToPick.hket |
For enquiry or collaboration opportunities, please contact us at lei@ln.edu.hk.