CIC: In Memoriam - Professor Kongjian Yu, Visionary of Nature-Based Urbanism

On September 23, 2025, Professor Kongjian Yu tragically passed away in a plane crash in Brazil at the age of 62. He was a renowned Chinese landscape architect, Dean of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Peking University, and founder of the design firm Turenscape. Professor Yu pioneered the "sponge city" concept, advocating for nature-based solutions to urban water management, which has significantly influenced urban ecological design and flood management policies in China and globally. His design philosophy, deeply inspired by traditional Chinese culture, emphasized the concept of "living in harmony with nature." He proposed the "Negative Planning" approach, prioritizing ecological infrastructure to safeguard natural systems and promote sustainable urban development. His theories and practices have provided valuable insights and experiences for the global landscape architecture and urban planning fields. Professor Kongjian Yu's passing is a profound loss to the global landscape architecture community. However, his ideas and practices will continue to impact the world through the landscapes he shaped, the students he mentored, and the ecological design movement he inspired.

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Source: https://www.cic.org.uk/news/in-memoriam-professor-kongjian-yu-visionary-of-nature-based-urbanism