In this interview, Hongjin Yu, CEO of Turenscape, takes “landscape architecture” as a point of departure to explore the conceptual tensions within the term and to reconsider the relationship between landscape and architecture. He advocates for a land-based, ecological approach in which landscape operates as essential infrastructure to address climate change and urban flooding. Extending Turenscape’s philosophy and the legacy of Kongjian Yu, the discussion calls for redefining the discipline as a...

Sponge City and Sponge Planet

Opening Speech

October 17, 2023 (Washington, D.C.) – The Cultural Landscape Foundation (“TCLF”) today announced that Beijing-based landscape architect Kongjian Yu is the recipient of the 2023 Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize (“Oberlander Prize”).

The Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum Award winner talks to METROPOLIS about our changing planet, his “Sponge City” concept, and nature-based solutions to urban planning.

Kongjian Yu—the distinguished landscape architect renowned for his ecologically sound and culturally resonant designs—has been honored as the 2023 recipient of the Oberlander Prize for Landscape Architecture.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) has named Beijing-based landscape architect Kongjian Yu (DDes ’95) the winner of the 2023 Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize, a biennial honor that includes a $100,000 award and two years of public engagement activities focused on the laureate’s work and landscape architecture more broadly.

Washington, D.C., Oct. 17 (Peking University) – The Cultural Landscape Foundation (“TCLF”) on Oct. 17 (EST) announced that Professor Yu Kongjian, from Peking University’s College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, was the recipient of the 2023 Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize (“Oberlander Prize”).

October 17, 2023 (Washington, D.C.) – The Cultural Landscape Foundation (“TCLF”) today announced that Beijing-based landscape architect Kongjian Yu is the recipient of the 2023 Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize (“Oberlander Prize”). The biennial Oberlander Prize includes a $100,000 award and two years of public engagement activities focused on the laureate’s work and landscape architecture more broadly. Yu is the global champion of the “sponge cities” concept fo...

Designing Sponge Planet