“Soak It Up” – Live Virtual Global Summit and Five Webinars – Combatting Climate Change with Landscape Architecture
Media Contact: Nord Wennerstrom | T: 202.483.0553 | M: 202.255.7076 | E: nord@tclf.org
Summit inspired by èƵ Prize laureate Kongjian Yu, global advocate for the “sponge cities” concept for addressing urban flooding
March 10, 2025 (Washington, D.C.) – èƵ (TCLF), a Washington, D.C.-based education and advocacy non-profit, today announced Soak It Up, a series of five pre-recorded webinars followed on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at 8:00PM ET by a live virtual global summit about combatting climate change with landscape architecture. The series and free registration are sponsored and underwritten by . The live 90-minute concluding event features the Beijing-based landscape architect Kongjian Yu, founder of , global champion of the “sponge cites” concept for addressing urban flooding, and the most recent winner of the Cornelia Hahn èƵ International Landscape Architecture Prize. Yu will be joined by Herbert Dreiseitl, Founder of the Germany-based ; Jasper Hugtenburg, Senior Landscape Architect, with the Dutch firm ; Mia Lehrer, Founder of the Los Angeles-based ; and Kotchakorn Voraakhom, Founder of and in Bangkok, Thailand. The live event will be preceded by the release of five 40-minute pre-recorded presentations, one by each of the panelists. is the media partner. , a New York-based videographer and photographer, oversaw the editing.
The “sponge cities” concept for addressing climate change accelerated urban flooding championed by the Beijing-based landscape architect Kongjian Yu, the most recent winner of the Cornelia Hahn èƵ International Landscape Architecture Prize, is the inspiration for Soak It Up, a global summit addressing contemporary environmental and social challenges – biodiversity loss, climate change, and social inequities – organized by TCLF and with generous support from . The free, public events are part of an on-going, broader program of both in-person and virtual èƵ Prize Forums to raise the visibility of the honoree’s work and landscape architecture more broadly.
During five pre-recorded presentations and a live, 90-minute moderated panel discussion with Q&A, the five landscape architects will examine the profession’s leadership role in the planning and design of water infrastructure as an integral part of creating places for people and nature to co-exist.
The Webinars and Virtual Event
TCLF has created a suite of five richly produced, skillfully edited 40-minute videotaped interviews with landscape architects working at the intersection of water management and design, which when taken together provide a global cross-cultural picture of climate adaptive strategies. Their shared ambitions transcend distant geographies and distinct political, regulatory, and economic circumstances. The five presentations are organized around the following topics:
1. The origin stories of the speakers, specifically how they found their way to landscape architecture and when they realized this profession would be their life’s work;
2. How the practitioner got involved in water management issues, how their work developed over time, current water management challenges in their region, and unique geographic and cultural considerations;
3. The general approach to uniting design with water management and the aspects of water management with which they’ve been involved (e.g. rivers, coastal erosion, sea level rise, etc.);
4. A description of two to three specific projects that illustrate the speaker’s approach and design philosophy, and reflections on how they measure success in this work; and,
5. Closing thoughts where the practitioner addresses the import of landscape architecture in addressing contemporary environmental and social challenges and why landscape architects should lead this charge.
The five presentations, and the closing panel discussion, are all free, but registration is required. A total of 4.5-5.0 CEUs (pending) will be offered. The first three videos will go live on March 17, followed four weeks later by the remaining two videos. Finally, on May 7, there will be a live capstone event, an online 90-minute panel discussion and Q&A moderated by the èƵ Prize Curator. The aim is to foster public conversations about this most challenging frontier in the effort to create resilient and equitable landscapes that lead with landscape architecture.
The Presenters (more extensive biographies are on TCLF’s website):
Kongjian Yu, the 2023 èƵ Prize laureate, is a Harvard-educated Chinese landscape architect who has championed the idea of “sponge cities” to mitigate urban flooding. The concept addresses climate change accelerated stormwater runoff and flooding with large-scale, nature-based designs—including constructed wetlands, greenways, parks, canopy tree and woodland protection, rain gardens, green roofs, permeable pavements, bioswales, other measures—that act as sponges soaking up and storing rainfall instead of relying exclusively on traditional concrete reinforced riverbanks, dams, pipes, drains, and other conventional engineering solutions. He is also the founder and principal designer at the landscape architecture firm , which today numbers more than 500 employees.
Yu will be joined by:
Herbert Dreiseitl, with the German firm , is a landscape architect, urban designer, water artist, interdisciplinary planner, and visiting professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS), NUS Cities, and other universities. Dreiseitl is also a Harvard University Graduate School of Design Loeb Fellow and a Fellow of the Centre for Liveable Cities in Singapore. He lectures worldwide and has authored many publications including three editions of Recent Waterscapes, Planning, Building, and Designing with Water.
Jasper Hugtenburg, is a seasoned landscape architect and physical geographer based in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, with more than twenty years of working experience in the fields of landscape architecture, water management, and ecology. He has been working for and with prestigious design offices, government bodies and NGOs, both in the Netherlands and abroad. As a senior landscape architect and project leader with , he is currently responsible for setting up and leading mostly interdisciplinary design projects with an emphasis on sustainable landscape development.
Mia Lehrer, FASLA, President, , founded the Los Angeles-based firm with a vision to improve the quality of life through landscape. She is internationally recognized for progressive landscape design, advocacy for sustainable and people-friendly public places, and catalyzing work for a climate-appropriate future. Lehrer has led the design and implementation of several ambitious public and private projects, including the Hollywood Park Racetrack redevelopment and its new LA NFL Stadium, the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum Gardens, Vista Hermosa Natural Park, and many projects related to the Los Angeles River
Kotchakorn Voraakhom, CEO and Founder of and , is a Thai landscape architect who works on productive public spaces, tackling climate change in dense urban areas. She created the first critical green infrastructure for Bangkok, Chulalongkorn Centenary Park. Her works also include, Thammasat Urban Farm Rooftop, the largest urban farming green roof in Asia, and the first bridge park across the river in any world capital, Chao Phraya Sky Park. The United Nations named Voraakhom winner of the UN Global Climate Action Awards, Women for Results. She also was a member of the jury that selected the winner of the Cornelia Hahn èƵ International Landscape Architecture Prize (2023).
“Landscape architects across the globe, including èƵ Prize winner Kongjian Yu, are addressing the climate crisis by deploying innovative nature-based planning and design solutions that will save lives, reduce the impact of urban flooding, and facilitate more responsible development, land management, and stewardship,” said Charles A. Birnbaum, TCLF’s President and CEO.
Anne-Marie Spencer, Corporate Vice President of Marketing and Communications at , said: “We are honored to partner with èƵ on this series as they continue to set the bar and produce beautiful content that highlights the importance of Landscape Architecture and its critical role in connecting people to places.”
About Lead Sponsor PlayCore
is a purpose-driven company that develops leading research and a complete portfolio of innovative products, programs, and services to build healthy communities through play, recreation, and outdoor spaces.
About Landezine
was started in the summer of 2009. Since then, it has been showcasing landscape architecture projects made by landscape architects and architects from around the globe. Today, Landezine is an internationally renowned and, by numbers, the most visited landscape architecture website. More than 5,000 visitors from all over the world visit every day.
About èƵ
èƵ (TCLF), is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1998 to connect people to places. TCLF educates and engages the public to make our shared landscape heritage more visible, identify its value, and empower its stewards. Through its website, publishing, lectures, and other events, TCLF broadens support and understanding for cultural landscapes. TCLF is also home to the Cornelia Hahn èƵ International Landscape Architecture Prize.
Editors: .
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