Yu Kongjian: Back to Earth

by Li Shuya Uncredited

In 2001 a group of 100 experts were invited by the municipal government of Zhongshan， Guangdong Province， to assess a plan for Zhongshan Shipyard （Qijiang） Park designed by Yu Kongjian， who earned a Harvard Ph.D. in 1995. Experts overwhelmingly rejected the project， voting 99 to 1 against it. Their arguments were convincing： Parks should be beautiful； who would want to visit an area characterized by weeds and old broken down machines？

Despite the opposition， the park was completed in May 2001 thanks to support from the local government. It was honored with an award from the American Society of Landscape Architects （ASLA） in 2002. Yu Kongjian became the first Chinese designer to be recognized as such.

Most of Yu Kongjians designs for rural landscapes were inspired by his childhood in Zhejiang Province， southeastern China. His ecological concepts were enhanced by his time at Beijing Forestry University and then Harvard. He now enjoys a global reputation for landscape architecture fueled by agriculture and ecology. In the ten years since 2002， he has received nine prizes from ASLA and many other honors both at home and abroad in realms of architecture， environment， and geo-science.

Today， Yu Kongjian serves as dean of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Peking University， a Yangtze River Scholar appointed by Chinas Ministry of Education， and chief designer of Turenscape.

For Yu， landscape design is more than building a park to decorate cities. “What Im doing is enhancing the environment through innovative ideas and values，” explains Yu. “I want to deliver a novel way of life： low carbon， energy-saving， and healthy.”

“A Net In Front of Me”

In 1997， Yu Kongjian quit SWA Group， a US-based world leader in landscape architecture， planning and urban design， and returned to China to found a landscape planning and designing center at Peking University， where he made only 1/20 of the salary offered by the American firm.

And life wasnt any easier upon returning to China. “I couldnt give bonuses to students or assistants，” Yu recalls with a wry smile. “It became a major issue when I found it difficult to secure additional offices. How could I keep working？”

He made up his mind to establish his own business： Turenscape. His business license was initially rejected by the local industrial and commercial administration because the name， which literally means “earthy man” in Chinese， was not sufficiently“elegant.”

His criticism of Chinas field of landscape design seems never to have stopped ever since his return.

In his eyes， classical gardens are aristocratic playgrounds– extravagant， wasteful， and artificial. Such beliefs inspired condemnation from gardening circles both in print and speeches. Nevertheless， Yu has stood firm. In 2004， he rocked the China City Forum （Beijing Summit） when he declared： “Look at the construction of the new CCTV building！ It could be built for only a tenth of its budget！”

His straightforwardness has brought him fame as well as controversy. “I feel a net in front of me that can never be torn.”

The Art of Living

“Ive been back in China for 16 years，” notes Yu Kongjian.“Its been like overcoming one obstacle after another.”

His first triumph was the award from ASLA for Zhongshan Shipyard （Qijiang） Park in 2002. Esteemed international recognition is convincing domestically， where an objective evaluation system has not been developed. Since then， Yu has continued harvesting honors and prizes from around the world while marching towards immortality， elevating his name to the tier of mention alongside James Corner and Adriaan Geuze.

To help his ideas be better understood， Yu consistently illustrates his concepts to mayors and city managers. “They are highly qualified，” asserts Yu， “I choose their ears to hear my ideas because they are eager to build their cities properly. They are hoping to find someone to show them how.” He even published a book to spread his help further， A Path to Urban Landscape： Talks to Mayors， which has already seen 13 editions.

Yus philosophy of natural space for every ordinary person is injected into a wide variety of landscapes with contrasting functionality， including Houtan Park in Shanghai， which puri- fies water， Qunli Storm Water Park in Harbin， Heilongjiang Province， which collects rainwater and prevents floods， Beach Restoration in Qinhuangdao， Hebei Province， which restores the seaside ecosystem， and the Rice Campus of Shenyang Jianzhu University in Shenyang， Liaoning Province， which enhances agricultural production.

Adjacent to the site of the 2010 Shanghai Expo， Houtan Park is considered one masterpiece of Yu Kongjian and Turenscape. Stretching 1.7 kilometers along the Huangpu River and covering 14 hectares in area， it was built on the site of an iron and steel plant and a ship repair factory – converted into a wetland park that purifies water.

With the project， Yu Kongjian blazed new trails for park construction. He maintained a low cost， yet enabled the parks to produce purified water and crops， while other designers were spending much more on pavilions， terraces， towers， fountains， and flower beds， which also cost more to maintain. “They are wasteful； Im productive，” he declares with a hint of pride.

Yu Kongjian deems his landscape design style “an art of living，” inspired by the techniques and craftsmanship of his ances- tors. He named his company “Turen” （tu means “earth” and ren means “man”） to demonstrate his understanding of the relationship between man and earth， with a trace of self-mockery masking his pride for his country.

Knowing Better

Yu Kongjians landscaping has always been about “improving the living environment of mankind.” In 1992， he recognized Richard T.T. Forman and Carl Steinitz at Harvard as his mentors， who laid a solid foundation for his own style. He has spared no efforts in making landscape design play a greater role in alleviating urban growing pains and enhancing environmental protection through flood control， water resource management， biodiversity protection， and cultural heritage protection.

For Yu， some urban beautification is no more than “garbage landscape.” He disagrees with much of traditional urban planning– building castles on sandy hills – which doesnt usually serve the general public. He opposes excessive water conservancy projects with constructive suggestions.

His style updates traditional urban design. “We cant choose sites for residential areas or office buildings before we figure out the location of rivers， wetlands， wild animal habitats， and cultural heritage sites，” Yu explains. “Such eco-infrastructure should stay where it is. A green skeleton enables urban design to bring healthy development.”

If water conservancy projects are excessive， as Yu believes， then how to prevent floods？ “Armored concrete should be removed so green land can absorb the rain， which is purified and helps enrich underground water as part of the natural ‘green sponge system， rather than artificially constructing massive dams and canals.”

“Assuming we set a goal for Chinas landscaping to ‘improve cities and create beautiful landscapes， how far along do you think the country is now？” asked a journalist.

“Halfway，” replied Yu Kongjian. “Sometimes we need to stop in a place with a gentle slope to see the bigger picture.”