Professor Kongjian Yu, Peking University
Wednesday 19 March, 1-2pm Rm 305 Wurster Hall
Kongjian Yu is a leading landscape architect in China. He grew up in a small village in South China during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. Today, he draw on his rural upbringing for insights in working with earth and water. By integrating this foundational experience with advanced contemporary sciences and design aesthetics, he has emerged as a pioneering figure in innovative design practice. Yu will describe experimental projects addressing challenges arising from China’s rapid industrialization and urbanization, including efforts to protect and restore both urban and rural ecologies through his concepts of Sponge City and Negative Planning. His professional and academic pursuits reflect a significant narrative of counter-currents and leading the tides, mirroring the dramatic transformations that have characterized China over the past 60 years.
Kongjian Yu is a scholar of landscape architecture and urban resilience, and the founding
dean of Peking University’s College of Architecture and Landscape. Over the course of his career, he has authored more than 20 books and 300 scholarly papers, making significant contributions to the discourse on ecological urbanism. He is also the founder and chief editor of Landscape Architecture Frontiers. Yu’s research and practice have been instrumental in advancing nature-based solutions for urban resilience, particularly through his “Sponge City” and “Sponge Planet” concepts, which have influenced ecological policies in China and gained international recognition. As the founder of Turenscape, a leading landscape architecture and urban design firm, he has overseen more than 1,000 projects across over 250 cities, with a focus on sustainable strategies for flood management and climate adaptation. Among his many recognitions, he was elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received his Doctor of Design degree from Harvard University.
Professor Yu’s talk is sponsored by Riverlab. He will also give a keynote lecture in the
Berkeley Water Day event the following day, 20 March.