This memory, written by German scholar Johannes Küchler, reflects on the life, work, and intellectual legacy of Professor Kongjian Yu. Beginning with his tragic death in Brazil’s Pantanal wetlands, the article traces Yu’s formative rural childhood, his academic development, and particularly his introduction of the concept of “ecological security patterns” into China’s rapid urbanization process following his doctoral studies at Harvard GSD. Küchler highlights Yu’s reinterpretation of landscape a...

This article highlights how a Chinese approach to urban design—rejecting rigid concrete infrastructure in favor of ecological, water-centric planning—has led to the global spread of sponge cities. Drawing on ancestral water wisdom from rural traditions, this paradigm uses permeable surfaces, wetlands, rain gardens, and natural drainage to absorb, filter, and reuse stormwater, effectively reducing floods, cleaning rivers, mitigating urban heat, and lowering costs compared to conventional gray inf...

“Think like a King, act like a Peasant” encapsulates the ecological philosophy of Dr. Kongjian Yu, a visionary landscape architect whose work has reshaped the global discourse on ecological design and urban resilience. Grounded in traditional agrarian wisdom and informed by cutting-edge nature-based solutions, Yu’s approach transforms flood-prone landscapes into vibrant ecological corridors, exemplified by the award-winning Xinjiang River Ecological Corridor. His philosophy emphasizes working wi...

Sun Property, a member of Sun Group, officially unveiled the large‑scale urban project Charmora City in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, covering approximately 227 hectares and marking the first application of the Sponge City urban model in the country. The development is planned as three functional islands: the North Island as an administrative center with a major square and a pioneering water park in the south‑central region; the Central Island designed as a hub for entertainment and re...

This article reports on the tragic death of renowned Chinese landscape architect and Beijing University professor Kongjian Yu in a small plane crash in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, in September 2025. Widely acclaimed by the media as the “father of sponge cities,” Yu was a pioneering advocate of sponge city concepts that have significantly influenced global approaches to climate adaptation, urban water management, and ecological restoration. He was in Brazil filming a documentary on the importance...

The article “Stormwater Parks in Flood-Prone Areas — A Rising Urban Necessity” discusses how climate change and urban development are increasing flood risks in cities and driving the adoption of stormwater parks as an integrated solution. Stormwater parks are designed green spaces that temporarily store and filter excess rainwater through ponds, wetlands, and permeable landscapes, reducing stress on storm drains while enhancing recreation, biodiversity, and water quality. These multifunctional p...

The article explains how cities like Los Angeles are increasingly adopting the “Sponge City” approach pioneered by Professor Kongjian Yu. By replacing hard pavement with permeable landscapes, wetlands, and green infrastructure, cities can absorb and store stormwater, reduce floods, and recharge groundwater. The piece shows that Yu’s nature-based philosophy—born in China and now spreading globally—is quietly reshaping how modern cities cope with climate change.

In the city of Nanchang, within the Yangtze River flood plain in east-central China, Turenscape transformed a badly abused 126-acre landscape into a dreamlike floating forest that regulates stormwater, provides habitat for wildlife, offers an array of recreational opportunities, and gives local residents a new way to connect with nature.

Professor Kongjian Yu (1963‑2025), founder of Turenscape and a seminal figure in landscape architecture, passed away tragically on 23 September 2025 in a small plane crash in Brazil. He was the recipient of the IFLA Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award (2020), the highest honor in international landscape architecture. His lifelong work redefined landscape architecture and urban planning as “the art of survival,” most notably through his pioneering “Sponge City” and “Sponge Planet” concepts that apply nat...