AsoneofthecentralgreenspacesoftheShanghai2010Expo,HoutanParkwasdesignednotonlyasarevivedecologicalwaterfrontfortheexhibition.ItwasalsoconceivedwiththeflexibilitytobetransformedintoanopenpublicwaterfrontspaceforShanghaiafterwards.

The‘topten’designersthatfollowarethoseIthinkhavebeenthemostinfluential.Thesepeoplehaveshapedyoureverydayworld.

hisinfluencesandhowYuobtainedhisfirstprojectsinChinausingtheecologicalprinciplesasthedifferentiatorbehimselfandtheotherlandscapedesignfirmsandinstitutes.

KongjianYucertainlyisbyfarthebest-knownlandscapearchitectfromthePeople’sRepublicofChina.Notonlyishethepresidentofhis­ownplanningcompanyTurenscape,heisalsothedean­oftheCollegeofArchitectureandLandscapeArchitectureatPekingUniversity.

Thispastyearshowsusallthatthepublishingworldisn’tdeadyet.Anumberofmust-havebooksonlandscapearchitecture,urbandesign,andecologycamepastourdesksthisyear.Hereareourtoptenbooksof2012:

Waterisaresourcethatisunevenlydistributed,acrosstimeandspace,affectedbyurbanisation,deforestationandclimatechange.Moderndevelopmentpracticesmakeusvulnerable,butChinesetraditionmanagedwaterresourcescarefully.

Beingalandscapeenthusiast,chancesareyou’refamiliarwiththenamessynonymouswithlandscapedesigngreatness.I’mreferringtohouseholdnamesthathavelefttheirmarkonthelandscape—thelikesofLeNôtre,CapabilityBrown,OlmstedandBurleMarx

PositionsandOppositionsinLandscapeArchitecture

Hisguidingdesignprinciplesaretheappreciationoftheordinaryandadeepembracingofnature,eveninitspotentiallydestructiveaspects,suchasfloods.

Turenscapepresentstwoprojects:TianjinQiaoyuanWetlandPark(China)andQunliNationalUrbanWetlandPark(China).