118 keystone species are,” he said. “It’s about knowing the most important areas, networks, or patterns to protect the integrity of the ecosystem.” Yu’s sponge city concept takes a similar approach to restoration. Data and modeling inform large-scale projects to transform neglected urban areas and former industrial sites into landscapes that serve both ecological and social functions. Yu has used GIS as part of his practice at Turenscape where he employs 400 people to create sponge city projects. As a professor, he has also exposed more than 1,200 students at Peking University to GIS in the landscape architecture department he founded. While it’s a tool in his work, he says GIS is far more than software. “It’s a way of thinking, a way of organizing knowledge in layers, a way of representation,” he said. “It becomes a scientific way to design the world.” Applying Left- and Right-Brain Thinking Yu describes his work as solving problems artfully. “It’s a science and an art,” he said. He sketches the places he will transform, drawing long sculptural features that will also provide an ecological service. His team does a lot of mapping and quantifying of landscape values, such as the types and porosity of soils. The team members simulate the behavior of water at different widths and depths. Features are refined for their function and how visitors will experience them. Nature-based designs— ponds, wetlands, and planted landscapes— replace metal and concrete in Yu’s designs. He often chooses to The pedestrian bridge is a key feature of Jinhua Yanweizhou Park, with 40,000 daily visits counted recently. (Photo ©Turenscape) Kongjian Yu sketches the concept for Chinatown Park, Boston. (Photo ©Turenscape courtesy The Cultural Landscape Foundation) makes them more resilient to flooding, and improves the lives of people. Yu won landscape architecture’s top recognition. When announcing the award, the 2023 Oberlander Prize committee called Yu a “brilliant and prolific designer . . . [who] is also a force for progressive change in landscape architecture around the world.” Achieving Holistic Designs Yu developed the sponge city concept as a doctoral student at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (1992–1995), where he studied geodesign with Carl Steinitz. He was also inspired by Ian McHarg, the founder of ecological design and author of the influential book Design with Nature. This coursework informed Yu’s thesis on landscape and ecological security patterns. The premise looks at places where portions and positions of the landscape have critical significance in safeguarding species and controlling ecological processes. Yu was able to demonstrate this concept as a product testing team intern at Esri in 1994. “I used GIS to simulate how animals move, the corridors of critical habitat, and where
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