US EditionChinese architect Kongjian Yu dies in plane crash in Brazil, local media reports
Yu Kongjian, pioneer of the sponge city concept adopted in over 250 cities, died alongside two Brazilian filmmakers and the pilot in a plane crash during documentary filming.
- A small plane crashed in Aquidauana, Brazil, killing four people, including architect Kongjian Yu.
- The crash victims also included Brazilian filmmakers Luiz Fernando Feres da Cunha Ferraz and Rubens Crispim Jr.
- Kongjian Yu was known for his innovative 'sponge cities' concept, which aims to manage rainwater using nature-based solutions.
- The causes of the accident are still under investigation, according to Brazilian newspaper G1 Globo.
75 Articles
75 Articles
The legacy of ‘sponge cities’ left by Chinese architect Yu Kongjian
A plane crash in Brazil killed Yu and three other people on September, 23, 2025Originally published on Global VoicesAerial view of Xinzheng, a sponge city in China. Image by Windmemories, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Yu Kongjian (俞孔坚), 62, the Chinese architect who pioneered the concept of “sponge cities,” died in a plane crash in the Pantanal region, the largest tropical wetland in the world, in Brazil, on September 23, 2025. Three other …
It was a reference for sustainable urban planning: Kongjian Yu died in a plane crash in Brazil with the other three occupants, announced the authorities on Wednesday, September 24, 2025. At 62 years old, this Chinese architect was known worldwide for having developed the concept of "towel cities", nature-based solutions to deal with the effects of climate change.
‘Sponge cities’ architect, Yu Kongjian, dies in plane crash in Brazil
The crash of a small plane in southwestern Brazil killed four people including Chinese landscape architect and urban planner Yu Kongjian, Brazilian authorities said Wednesday.The accident happened late Tuesday during a landing attempt at a large farm about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from the municipality of Aquidauana in Mato Grosso do Sul state, firefighters said.Yu, who was known for promoting ecologically sound development, was traveling with …
Kongjian Yu: The Sponge Evangelist
We were deeply saddened to hear that Kongjian Yu, FASLA, the landscape architect, educator, climate advocate, and founder of Beijing-based firm Turenscape, died in a plane crash in Brazil on Tuesday, September 23, 2025. Here, we look back to an profile published in conjunction with the announcement of his acceptance of the 2023 Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize. A full account of Kongjian Yu’s career can be f…
The Chinese architect Kongjian Yu, known worldwide for developing the concept of "sponge cities", died at the age of 62.
In the 2010s, Kongjian Yu developed the concept of the "swimming town" to work with nature in large quantities of water, not against it. It is implemented worldwide. Now Yu is tragically killed.
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