Rewilding Architecture
Lake Como Design Festival
Architecture is a very anthropocentric discipline, mostly aimed at separating humans and nature by creating buildings and cities in which nature is either banned or strictly designed and controlled, and in the best cases included only as an ornamental feature for humans’ recreational purposes.
It is time to go beyond that! It is time to rewild architecture!
At PiM.studio, through our designs, we try to re-articulate the relationship between architecture, humans and all other living beings. An Architecture for All.
In this new series of drawings, we investigate the possibilities of a rewilded architecture by showing some of our latest projects in their ideally rich biodiverse environments, and we do so by representing mainly the nature present (or dreamed) in each project. The architecture becomes a background and nature is the real protagonist.
Creating a more biodiverse built environment and reintroducing a degree of wildlife in our buildings and our cities is possible at all scales and for all kinds of projects.
From a hanging garden for butterflies in London City to an indoor exhibition gallery transformed into a tropical garden, to a small music hall at the Hearth of Nature,
from an entire mixed-use masterplan with nature at its core, to an old Italian market square where animals, trees and men live together in harmony,
from a visitor centre for a natural reserve which becomes home for all living beings: from insects to birds, foxes and people to a small playground for kids and squirrels in the middle of the woods.
And, finally, a house where nature takes centre stage in the form of a beautiful patio garden at its centre and surrounded by a lush garden with a natural pond to swim in.
If we learn (again) to live in harmony with nature, we can be happier and healthier in our cities, workplaces and our homes.
Project Name: Rewilindg Architecture (competition proposal)
Location: Como, Italy
Date: 2021
Architects: PiM.studio Architects
Maurizio Mucciola, Maria-Chiara Piccinelli, Martin De Pablo Esteban