Architect Kongjian Yu’s “sponge cities” are large scale solutions for accumulating, infiltrating, and purifying rainwater, restoring natural ecosystems, and promoting urban development.

Earlier this February, two atmospheric rivers brought extensive flooding to parts of California, as record rainfall swept through multiple areas, leading to a declaration of emergency in several counties.

With the biennial Oberlander Prize in hand, Turenscape’s Kongjian Yu, FASLA, wants to expand the global profile of landscape architecture.

Kongjian Yu’s modulated water system offers an answer to the pressing challenges of climate change

Turenscape reimagines an urban dumping ground in Nanachang In the city of Nanchang, within the Yangtze River flood plain in east-central China, the architecture firm Turenscape transformed a disused 126-acre waterscape into a dreamlike floating forest.Its name is FishTail Park.

Decisions about land use and infrastructure have left little space for water, amplifying the effects of natural disasters and climate change.

These urban design solutions might save us (and our cities) from climate change, but only if they can overcome the numerous obstacles that stand in the way.

Oberlander Prize Forum with Kongjian Yu & Jury Chair Elizabeth Mossop

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.