When I relocated with my family from Washington DC to Dubai in 2023, the last thing on our minds was that we might get flooded. Fast-forward a few months and all I think about is how something called a “sponge city” may help this emirate to alleviate the impact of heavy rainfall.

Cities capable of absorbing water and releasing it when needed: Kongjian Yu has changed the approach to urban planning in the People’s Republic of China.

Recently, the Beijing-based landscape architect Kongjian Yu became the recipient of the 2023 Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture 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 developer of the concept of sponge cities concept for addressing climate change and addressing accelerated urban flooding.

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”).

Le Sponge Cities, o città spugna, sono un nuovo modello di pianificazione urbana che si propone di rendere le città più resilienti agli eventi climatici estremi, come le inondazioni e la siccità.

Modern challenges such as floods, rising global temperatures and water shortages can be mitigated with a holistic but revolutionary approach – turning the planet into a sponge, a strategy that is already being deployed in more than 250 cities.

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...

Kongjian Yu was only 10 years old when he witnessed the power of nature firsthand. Heavy rain caused the creek near his village in China’s Zhejiang province to swell and spill over to the rice terraces. When he ran to the river’s edge in excitement, he slipped into the surging floodwaters. Fortunately, he was able to save himself by grabbing onto the willow and reed vegetation that grew all along the banks.