Dr Kongjian was my first boss when I came to China, and the first to offer foreign designers the chance to participate in his work. I was saddened to hear of Dr Kongjian's death in a plane crash earlier this year, shortly after he attended the IFLA 2025 conference in Nantes, France. This big man had a huge influence on the landscape architecture profession in China, and he was my most respected teacher and senior.

In spring 2018, when I was a junior designer, I followed Dr Kongjian and his international team to Qinhuangdao Beach in northern Hebei. Dr Kongjian introduced us to the ecological restoration project he had initiated at Qinhuangdao Beach. The project involved creating a series of artificial wetland ponds and a waterfront park to support the beach's ecological recovery after it had been heavily eroded. Ten years later, the park was partly opened, and Dr Kongjian saw this as a great opportunity to revisit the beach and measure the effectiveness of his intervention. The beach was quiet in the winter months, but thanks to the elevated walkway, which redirected pedestrian flow and minimised the impact caused by tourism, the land was left intact and native grasses started to regenerate.

I recalled this memorable trip with him because I was too young to fully understand his design principles, though he was kind enough to bring me along. Now, as a landscape professional, I still remember how he responded when I questioned the aesthetic aspect of his designs. I was shallow and perhaps too arrogant.

译文:

俞孔坚博士是我初到中国时的第一位上司，也是首位给予外国设计师参与其项目机会的人。今年早些时候，他在法国南特参加完IFLA 2025会议后因空难离世的消息令我深感悲痛。这位伟人对中国风景园林行业影响深远，亦是我最敬重的师长与前辈。

2018年春季，当我还是初级设计师时，曾跟随俞博士及其国际团队前往河北秦皇岛海滩。他向我们介绍了自己发起的生态修复项目——通过构建人工湿地池塘与滨水公园，修复因严重侵蚀而退化的海滩。十年后，公园部分开放，俞博士将此视为检验干预成效的契机。冬季的海滩虽游人稀少，但抬高的步行道巧妙分流了游客足迹，使土地免遭破坏，原生草甸开始自然复苏。

这段回忆之所以珍贵，是因为彼时的我尚无法完全理解他的设计理念，而他却慷慨地给予我同行机会。如今作为从业者，我仍记得自己曾质疑他设计的美学性时他的回应。那时的我浅薄而傲慢。