Q4 2020

11 Q4 2020 BUILD spent years of his life moving towards. He has brought together a large, talented team and worked directly with officials in order to move more clearly towards this goal. His approach to architecture links the city with a redefined role of the landscape as an aspect of design that exists to enhance. One of the projects that Turenscape has focused on, therefore, is what the cities of the future will look like. The aims of these cities are simple: to provide clean water and food to citizens, to regulate the climate, to reduce the chance of disease, floods and drought, to support the natural lifecycle of all living things and to encourage a culture that embraces the importance of sustainable development. This sort of thinking is how Turenscape has found itself at the heart of a revolutionary new approach that could change the way in which China interacts with the environment at large. With many areas at risk of severe flooding, the firm developed sophisticated ‘sponge cities’ which have received official government approval and are now being explored across the country. A sponge city is one that can hold, clean, and drain water in a natural way using an ecological approach. Instead of finding a technological solution, the project revolves around seeing what nature is able to offer. Naturally, in an area of high industrial development, concrete is the order of the day, but the approval that the team have received from different areas demonstrates a desire to see what potential the concept has. In many ways, this would be the highlight of the company’s work, seeing a new way of thinking come to life across the country. With a reputation for innovative and environmentally sound designs, the team at Turenscape are seen as leaders in the field. They’ve had a major impact on the Chinese approach to design, and are likely to see their results influence architects around the world. The holistic approach advocated by Dr Yu is what makes them stand apart, and it is also what places them in good stead for the future. Many companies achieve success by reacting to the needs of today. Turenscape has done so by changing what tomorrow will bring. Company: Turenscape Contact: Kongjian Yu Web Address: www.turenscape.com Q4 2020 BUILD