
In an age where humanity's detrimental impact on the environment has become increasingly evident, the concept of rewilding is emerging as a powerful approach to conservation and ecological restoration. In line with growing attention on landscape architecture in recent years, the idea of removing human intervention from our natural surroundings in order to restore a stable equilibrium seems to offer a low-effort, ethereal way to right fundamental climate wrongs. But is a lack of meddling in nature really all there is to rewilding, and how does this relate to architecture and design? We look at key concepts, applications, and examples to find out.
At its core, rewilding aims to reverse the effects of habitat loss, species decline, and ecosystem degradation by allowing nature to reclaim its inherent spaces and processes. The movement represents a bold shift from traditional systemic conservation practices and instead embraces a restorationist idea of coexisting with thriving natural landscapes. Spurred on by efforts around the UN's Decade of Ecosystem Restoration that runs from 2021 until 2030, Ireland, Sweden, Nigeria, Australia, India, Chile, the USA, and Indonesia are just a few of the countries already undertaking re-wilding projects according to a map by the Global Rewilding Alliance.
