Withinthelast10years,therehasbeenatrendtowardmore“sustainable,”“ecological”and“resilient”designsthatseektoworkalongsidetheenvironmenttoimprovethequalityofourtownsandcities.

DesignedbyChineselandscapefirmTurenscape,the26-hectareYanweizhouParkinJinhuafeaturesflood-resistanttopography,naturalwildlifehabitats,andanetworkofmeanderingpathwaysandbridges.

InYanweizhouParkinJinhuaCitywater-resilientterrainandplantingsaredesignedtoadapttothemonsoonfloods.TheprojecthasgiventheChinesecityanewidentityandisnowacclaimedasitsmostpoeticlandscape.

Thesiteconditionsposedfourmajorchallengestothelandscapearchitect:1)Howcantheremainingpatchofriparianhabitatbepreserved?2)Whatapproachtofloodcontrolshouldbeused?3)Howcantheexistingorganicallyshapedbuildingbeintegratedintothesurroundingenvironment?4)howcantheseparatedcitydistrictsbeconnectedtothenaturalriparianlandscapeofJinhua?

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.