Dear peers,

It is with profound sorrow that we announce the passing of Professor Kongjian Yu.

An outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, founding dean of the College of Architecture and Landscape at Peking University, Boya Distinguished Professor, renowned international landscape architect, landscape design educator, and editor-in-chief of Landscape Architecture Frontiers journal, Professor Yu, tragically passed away at the age of 62 in a plane crash on September 23, 2025, while conducting ecological fieldwork in the Pantanal region of Brazil.

Professor Yu was born in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, in April 1963. He entered the Department of Landscape Architecture at Beijing Forestry University in 1980, where he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. After graduating in 1987, he remained at the university as a faculty member, dedicated to cultivating talent in landscape architecture. In 1992, he pursued further studies in the United States and earned the Doctor of Design degree from Harvard University in 1995. He then engaged in professional practice at the SWA Group in the U.S. In 1997, he resolutely returned to China to devote himself to the nation’s education and research endeavors, taking up a professorship at the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University. Following his return, he successively founded the Landscape Planning and Design Research Center, the Graduate School of Landscape Architecture, and the College of Architecture and Landscape at Peking University. He also established the Landscape Architecture Frontiers journal, dedicating his entire life to advancing the discipline of landscape architecture and educating a large number of highly skilled professionals for the country.

Professor Yu always regarded urban and landscape design as “the art of survival.” He pioneered the concept of “Big Foot Beauty,” advocating for a return to natural ecology, and systematically implemented this philosophy through theoretical research, teaching, and practical engineering projects, setting a clear direction for the development of the profession. He successively served as an expert advisor to central government agencies including the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Water Resources, and the National Cultural Heritage Administration, as well as to local governments such as that of Beijing Municipality. He was appointed a National Distinguished Expert by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. He also held key positions including Vice President of the Chinese Society for Urban Studies, Director of the Beautiful China & Landscape Architecture Committee, Deputy Director of the Technical Committee for Sponge Cities under the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and Director of the Climate Resilience Committee of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture. Through these roles, he contributed valuable insights to the nation’s ecological civilization and urban planning and development. He also received the national Achievement Award for Returned Overseas Scholars and the Inaugural Award for Outstanding Entrepreneurship among Overseas Chinese Professionals.

In the academic and practical fields, Yu pioneered the theory of “Ecological Security Patterns” and the “Negative Planning” approach, introducing the concept of ecological infrastructure into landscape and urban–rural planning. His efforts provided a scientific solution for reconciling the conflicts between ecological conservation and urban development, laying a foundational basis for territorial spatial planning system. Under his leadership, his team developed and designed a series of replicable and scalable engineering models, which have been successfully applied in over 1,000 urban ecological restoration projects across more than 200 cities in over ten countries. These achievements have made outstanding contributions to improving living environments and restoring ecosystems worldwide. Many of his completed projects, acclaimed for their seamless integration of ecological and artistic values, enjoy international prestige and offer forward-thinking Chinese solutions and wisdom in response to the global ecological crisis.

Yu has delivered over 50 keynote speeches at top global academic and professional forums, including the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), reflecting his broad academic influence across the world. He has also received numerous prestigious awards, including 12 from the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), 9 World Best Landscape Awards at the World Architecture Festival, 3 International Architecture Awards, 2 American Architecture Awards, one ULI Global Award of Excellence from the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and the Gold Medal at the 10th China Art Exhibition.

In 2016, Yu was elected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He received honorary Doctorates from Sapienza University of Rome in 2017 and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in 2019. In 2020, he won the IFLA Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award, the highest lifetime achievement award in landscape architecture, in recognition of his profound and far-reaching contributions to improving human society, habitats, and well-being. In 2021, he received the John Cobb Common Good Award, and in 2023, he won the National Landscape Architecture Award and was selected as the laureate of the Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize from over 300 global nominees. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) awarded him the title of “Champion for Nature-based Solutions” In September 2025, he was named to the Forbes Sustainability Leaders, further affirming the broad international recognition of his contributions.

Professor Yu was born in Dongyu Village, Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province. The village’s now-vanished Fengshui forest and the Baisha Creek, which once separated it from Linjiang Village, nurtured his ecological philosophy. From an early age, he was deeply influenced by traditional Chinese wisdom of survival, instilling in him a lifelong ideal of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. With immense passion, he dedicated himself to the cause of ecological civilization and the practice of “Beautiful China,” tirelessly striving to heal a planet in crisis. On the eve of his passing, he was still in Pantanal, Brazil—the “lungs of the Earth”—posing a haunting question: “When the last Eden is retreating, where can humanity still find hope for survival?” Though Professor Yu has departed, the journey he began to heal the Earth will never cease. The landscape career he pioneered will undoubtedly continue to advance through the legacy of those who follow.

The shade of the trees is silent, yet the homeland remains warm. The master has passed, but his spirit endures. What a profound loss! We have forever lost a dear and respected teacher, a like-minded colleague, a true and trusted friend, and a warm and loving family member. The passing of Professor Yu is a tremendous loss to Peking University, and an even greater regret for the field of ecological landscape design in China and across the world. We extend our deepest condolences to Professor Yu’s family, express our most profound sorrow for his passing, and will forever cherish his memory. Among those traveling with Professor Yu in Brazil were Brazilian film director Luiz Fernando Feres da Cunha Ferraz, documentary director Rubens Crispim Jr., and pilot Marcelo Pereira de Barros. There were no survivors. We hereby express our sincere mourning for the victims and their families. May those who explored the magnificent natural world until their final moments rest in peace on the Earth they so deeply loved.

The specific time and format of Yu’s farewell ceremony will be announced separately, with full respect for the wishes of his family.

College of Architecture and Landscape, Peking University

College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University

September 25, 2025