The doctors at the Hopital Raymond Poincare in Garches, France, decided that a family's last goodbye with a loved one shouldn't take place in a cold, impersonal room, so they commissioned Italian artist Ettore Spalletti, British sound artist Robin Rimbaud (known as Scanner), and American composer David Lang to create a morgue that feels like no other.

"We try to treat the dead as we would treat the sick, with the same level of medical care."
— chief pathologist Professor Michel Durigon

"I was adament ... that I felt like this music should last a certain amount of time ... and then it should be over. And then, if you decide that you would like to stay there longer, that's between you and the silence. Here's the contribution I can make, and when I've made that contribution, I should get out."
— Composer David Lang on RadioLab

Listen:

The Last Goodbye BBC Radio 4