Reimagining the Flow of Nature: Sponge Cities and a Resilient Planet

Conventional wisdom regarding stormwater mitigation dictates that developers prioritize so-called gray infrastructure – concrete and steel construction that works to reroute flooding in order to minimize loss of life and property. But what renowned landscape architect Kongjian Yu has insisted for years now is that nature itself actually has many of the answers we seek in regard to flood preparedness.

Cities across the world are grappling with the escalating challenges of urban flooding and climate resilience. Traditional grey infrastructure such as concrete flood channels, drainage pipes, and embankments often proves insufficient in the face of extreme weather events.

Sponge City and Sponge Planet

Kongjian Yu is a professor at Beijing University and founder of landscape architecture practice Turenscape. He recently received the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize in recognition of his work developing the Sponge City concept for mitigating urban flooding and augmenting urban climate resilience. (see also the AJ’s Climate Resilience issue, 24 October 2024). He talks here about his practice’s key projects, but also about the importance of his childhood in shap...

1. Project Statement Whispering Bamboo (语竹) is an immersive architectural installation within the Dongyuegu Music and Performance Valley, where the harmony of nature and human creativity is expressed through the medium of space, sound, and materiality. This intimate yet profound performance space stands as a poetic dialogue between tradition and modernity, evoking the timeless connection between bamboo, wind, and music in Chinese culture. 2. Design Strategy Concept and Des...

1. Project Statement Whispering Bamboo (语竹) is an immersive architectural installation within the Dongyuegu Music and Performance Valley, where the harmony of nature and human creativity is expressed through the medium of space, sound, and materiality. This intimate yet profound performance space stands as a poetic dialogue between tradition and modernity, evoking the timeless connection between bamboo, wind, and music in Chinese culture. 2. Design Strategy Concept and Design Ins...

1. Project Statement Spherical Symphony (闻籁) is a transformative architectural installation within the Dongyuegu Music and Performance Valley, where space and sound converge to create a sensory experience unlike any other. Designed as an immersive soundscape, this installation consists of two nested concrete cones strategically positioned among the surrounding service buildings. The form and materiality of the structure amplify and modulate sound, turning the space into a living instr...