Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 11 hours ago
The Sinographic compound (山水), denoting “mountain and water,” is widely shared across many Asian contexts, with different regional traditions and approaches. As shanshui in China, sansui in Japan, and sansu in Korea, the term has historically referred to creative artistic and philosophical visions of the natural world, combining the vital elements of a fully dynamic landscape. With climate change underway, what contemporary elements and dimensions of nature are necessary for designing and building sustainable spaces for human habitation and flourishing? Contemporary landscape architects from Northeast and Southeast Asia are trying to answer this question by rethinking the relation between social and natural forms. Their aim is to design habitable futures at the intersection of the two.
This conference will feature leading landscape architects and scholars from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, as well as Australia and the US, to discuss the perspectives, histories, politics, and most compelling projects of sustainable design in the Asian context.
This conference accompanies the exhibition Designers of Mountain and Water, which will be on display in the Druker Design Gallery from January 20 to May 15, 2026. Curated by Jungyoon Kim, Associate Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture at the GSD, the exhibition features more than 55 works of landscape architecture by 23 practices in Asia.
Panel | Beyond Sansu, Sansui, Shanshui
SPEAKERS
Dong Wang, Head of the Ecological City Studio, Turenscape, Beijing, China
Shunsaku Miyagi, Founding Partner of PLACEMEDIA, Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan
Yoonjin Park, Founding Principal, PARKKIM, Seoul and Boston
MODERATOR
Gary Hilderbrand, Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University; Founding principal of Reed Hilderbrand
00:00 Panel Handoff
01:33 Panel Introduction by Gary Hilderbrand
06:44 Remembrance for Kongjian Yu
17:45 Presentation by Dong Wang
30:00 Presentation by Shunsaku Miyagi
45:18 Presentation by Yoonjin Park
58:40 Panel Discussion and Q+A
01:31:50 Closing Remarks
The Sinographic compound (山水), denoting “mountain and water,” is widely shared across many Asian contexts, with different regional traditions and approaches. As shanshui in China, sansui in Japan, and sansu in Korea, the term has historically referred to creative artistic and philosophical visions of the natural world, combining the vital elements of a fully dynamic landscape. With climate change underway, what contemporary elements and dimensions of nature are necessary for designing and building sustainable spaces for human habitation and flourishing? Contemporary landscape architects from Northeast and Southeast Asia are trying to answer this question by rethinking the relation between social and natural forms. Their aim is to design habitable futures at the intersection of the two.
This conference will feature leading landscape architects and scholars from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, as well as Australia and the US, to discuss the perspectives, histories, politics, and most compelling projects of sustainable design in the Asian context.
This conference accompanies the exhibition Designers of Mountain and Water, which will be on display in the Druker Design Gallery from January 20 to May 15, 2026. Curated by Jungyoon Kim, Associate Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture at the GSD, the exhibition features more than 55 works of landscape architecture by 23 practices in Asia.
Panel | Beyond Sansu, Sansui, Shanshui
SPEAKERS
Dong Wang, Head of the Ecological City Studio, Turenscape, Beijing, China
Shunsaku Miyagi, Founding Partner of PLACEMEDIA, Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan
Yoonjin Park, Founding Principal, PARKKIM, Seoul and Boston
MODERATOR
Gary Hilderbrand, Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University; Founding principal of Reed Hilderbrand
00:00 Panel Handoff
01:33 Panel Introduction by Gary Hilderbrand
06:44 Remembrance for Kongjian Yu
17:45 Presentation by Dong Wang
30:00 Presentation by Shunsaku Miyagi
45:18 Presentation by Yoonjin Park
58:40 Panel Discussion and Q+A
01:31:50 Closing Remarks
