Better Place Forests Memorial / OpenScope Studio

Located on the crest of a wooded rise, framing a view towards the meadow below, the visitor center for Better Place Forests in Point Arena, California marks the threshold of the visitors’ journey into the forest’s memorial groves. Better Places Forests offers a sustainable alternative to cemeteries. Within these protected forests, families choose trees to mark the place where they’ll spread their loved ones’ ashes over generations. The concept has simple poetry—merging ritual, memorial, and forest conservation—yet its realization involved a large team of design and technical specialists, led by Fletcher Studio, landscape architects. Located on a 40-acre stretch of the Mendocino Coast, Better Place Forests’ Point Arena location establishes a framework for future sites, each with its own unique qualities.