{"id":964,"date":"2025-09-25T09:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T09:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scientificmediagroup.com\/?p=964"},"modified":"2025-10-02T16:17:29","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T16:17:29","slug":"sponge-city-creator-kongjian-yu-killed-in-brazil-plane-crash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.scientificmediagroup.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/25\/sponge-city-creator-kongjian-yu-killed-in-brazil-plane-crash\/","title":{"rendered":"Sponge city creator Kongjian Yu killed in Brazil plane crash"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kongjian<\/div>\n

Landscape architect Kongjian Yu, the founder of Chinese studio Turenscape<\/a>, and three others have died in a plane crash in Brazil<\/a>‘s Pantanal wetlands while reportedly making a documentary about his sponge city model.<\/span><\/p>\n

A small aircraft crashed in Brazil’s Mato Grosso do Sul state<\/a> on Tuesday as it attempted to land at a farm near Aquidauana municipality, killing 62-year-old Yu.<\/p>\n

Two Brazilian filmmakers, Luiz Ferraz and Rubens Crispim Junior, and local pilot Marcelo Pereira de Barros also died in the crash.<\/p>\n

CNN Brasil reported<\/a> that the victims of the crash were in the Pantanal region to film a documentary titled Planeta Esponja, which translates to Planet Sponge, exploring Yu’s pioneering sponge city concept \u2013 an urban planning model for managing rainwater in cities.<\/p>\n

\"View
Kongjian Yu developed the pioneering sponge city planning model. Photo of Sanya Mangrove Park by Turenscape<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The cause of the plane crash has not been disclosed. However, according to Brazilian newspaper Folha de Campo Grande, the aircraft exploded when it hit the ground<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Yu’s sponge city model gained global attention after it was adopted by the Chinese government in 2014 as a guide for future urban developments. The concept proposes using green, nature-based infrastructure for flood and stormwater management instead of relying solely on grey infrastructure drainage systems.<\/p>\n

Born in 1963 in Jinhua, China, Yu studied landscape architecture at Beijing Forestry University. He completed his master’s degree in 1987.<\/p>\n

He worked as part of the landscape studio SWA Group<\/a> in California in the 1990s before returning to China in 1997 to establish his own studio, Turenscape<\/a>, which has completed over 600 projects internationally.<\/p>\n