Forests in the City

How can we revive Te Whanganui-a-tara’s ghost forests? Bringing together landscape architects to discuss the opportunities and the challenges for rewilding urban environments. As part of this session we also ask you to think about possible infill opportunities you may have come across in your daily travels. Ghost Forests is a photographic and video project that explores the ecological histories hidden within New Zealand's architectural heritage. The work considers the relationship between buildings like the Wellington's Old Government Buildings—one of the world's largest surviving timber (Kauri) buildings—and the forests that supplied its construction material. The project proposes the idea of architecture as ecological heritage. Historic timber buildings are often discussed through the lenses of architecture, craftsmanship and preservation. Less frequently acknowledged are the forests that made them possible. Ghost Forests asks visitors to consider buildings as repositories of environmental memory. A huge thank you to Critical Signals for hosting this exhibition and the discourse it aims to provoke.