大地之子——俞孔坚教授追思在波士顿举行
2025年12月13日，冬日的波士顿清朗而肃静。俞孔坚教授追思会在波士顿建筑学院（Boston Architectural College，BAC）举行。来自世界各地的学者、设计师、公益机构代表，以及俞孔坚教授的家属、好友、同事与学生相聚于此，在他的作品、思想与记忆之间，共同追思这位中国生态文明建设的先行者，全球景观规划与设计领域的思想领袖。
追思会在BAC同期举办的回顾性展览“The Ground We Touch – A Living Archive of Kongjian Yu’s Landscapes”中展开。仪式开始前，来宾们缓步行走于展厅之中：项目图纸、影像记录、学术著作、生平纪念册静静陈列，如同一段段凝固的时光，铺陈出俞孔坚教授“为大地而设计”的一生实践。
追思会由高雨凡（Yufan Gao）开场。她代表波士顿建筑学院，并以本次展览策展人的身份，向来宾致以诚挚欢迎。她回顾了俞孔坚教授与波士顿，与BAC之间长期而深厚的学术渊源，并介绍了追思会的流程与发言嘉宾，为这场凝聚敬意与情感的聚会拉开序幕。
俞孔坚教授的女儿俞宏蒙（Hope Hongmeng Yu）作为第一位发言者，深情讲述了与父亲相伴的童年记忆。她回忆了在父亲影响下逐渐走近自然、理解生态的过程，也分享了自己从计算机专业出发，最终与父亲所深耕的生态与景观世界产生交汇的心路历程。她的讲述温柔而坚定，在回忆中勾勒出父亲对她一生的深远影响。
随后发言的是俞孔坚教授助理、土人设计代表田宏薇。她代表土人设计全体员工，表达了对俞孔坚离去的深切哀痛与不舍，回忆了俞孔坚作为思想引路人、实践者与精神支柱的点点滴滴，并郑重表示土人设计将继续守护并践行俞孔坚教授开创的理念与事业，让他的思想在真实的大地上持续生长。
第三位发言者是俞孔坚教授在哈佛大学设计研究生院（Harvard GSD）的导师之一Stephen Ervin（哈佛大学设计研究生院信息技术副院长、计算机资源主任、景观设计讲师）。他回忆了不久前在波士顿与俞孔坚一同考察项目的时光，也追溯了多年来在学术与思想层面的深度交流与友谊。发言最后，他以中文表达了对俞孔坚教授的深情怀念，朴素而动人。
Gary R. Hilderbrand（哈佛大学设计研究生院景观设计系主任）回顾了邀请俞孔坚教授走进哈佛GSD讲学、交流的经历，高度评价了俞孔坚对全球景观、城市生态与专业教育的卓越贡献，并表示未来将继续深化哈佛与北大之间的合作，共同推进生态思想在实践中的延展。
Anne Whiston Spirn（麻省理工学院建筑与规划学院教授）发言。作为俞孔坚教授多年的挚友与学术同行，她回顾了二人长期相互支持、彼此激励的友谊，并现场朗读了她曾撰写的、推荐俞孔坚教授获得行业最高终身成就奖——杰里科爵士奖（Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award）的推荐信。字里行间，既是对俞孔坚卓越成就的高度肯定，也饱含对其离去的深切感叹，以及继续延续其理想与使命的期许。
虽无法亲临现场，李迪华（北京大学建筑与景观设计学院副院长）通过视频方式致辞。他回顾了俞孔坚教授在中国生态安全格局理论上的奠基性贡献，以及双方携手创建北京大学建筑与景观设计学院的历程，并表示将继续在北大传播俞孔坚的思想，培养新一代具有生态使命感的景观与规划人才。
来自 James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation 的多位代表发言。基金会执行董事 Sonja Plesset 作为俞孔坚的多年挚友，回忆了他对基金会在教育、环境与社会创新领域工作的深远影响；基金会联合创始人 Cathy Stone 与 Jim Stone 则共同追忆了去年在波士顿与俞孔坚一同考察 Cathleen Stone Island 的经历。俞孔坚教授为小岛生态保护提出的诸多真知灼见，以及他为基金会 Stone Living Lab， 气候变化研究方向所指引的“海绵星球”愿景，至今仍在持续发酵。
随后发言的是 Cynthia E. Smith（史密森学会库珀·休伊特国家设计博物馆社会责任设计策展人）。她回忆了受邀参加俞孔坚教授在中国举办的气候大会，并跟随俞老师深入中国多地项目考察的经历。在长期的合作与交流中，二人建立了深厚的友谊。她也见证了俞孔坚教授荣获库珀·休伊特国家设计奖的重要时刻，并表示将在来年于库珀·休伊特史密森设计博物馆展出俞孔坚的作品与理念，让他的思想继续在更广阔的公众空间中传播。
追思会的最后，由俞孔坚教授之子、现任土人设计董事长俞宏晋，通过视频方式致辞。他郑重表示，将承续其父亲的遗志，引领土人设计迈入一个人工智能与生态智慧融合共生的新时代，持续推动未来气候适应型城市与景观的发展。
在情感与使命完交汇中，追思会亦呈现出俞孔坚教授所深刻影响的全球学术与实践共同体图景。到场嘉宾还包括俞孔坚教授同学马晓伟； Frederick Steiner（宾夕法尼亚大学威兹曼设计学院院长）；Kay Chubbuck （Longwood Gardens 副总裁）；Anita Berrizbeitia（哈佛大学设计研究生院景观设计教授、前系主任）； Gretchen Rabinkin（波士顿景观建筑师协会（BSLA）执行董事）； Elizabeth Hermann（罗德岛设计学院（RISD）相关院系负责人）；以及 Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates（MVVA） 的 Laura Solano、Emily Mueller De Celis。同时，来自哈佛大学设计研究生院（GSD）的 Jungyoon Kim、Karen Lee Bar-Sinai、Rosalea Monacella，以及波士顿建筑学院（BAC）的 Karen Nelson、Ian Taberner、Sara Bourque、Adrian Fehrmann 等多位教师与学者亦到场参与。追思会亦向更广泛的专业社群开放，来自 China GSD、MYKD、MVVA、Stimson、BSLA、RISD 等机构与事务所的同仁，以现场或精神相伴的方式，共同参与这场跨越地域与学科的追思与致敬。
整场追思会克制而深情，肃穆而温暖。人们在回忆与致敬中愈发清晰地感受到，俞孔坚教授对这个世界、对行业、对教育、对无数个体所激发的思想与勇气，并不会随着他的离去而消散，而将继续在大地之上生根、蔓延、生长。
斯人已去，山河犹在；思想长存，生生不息。
永远怀念俞孔坚教授。
The Ground We Touch — A Memorial Gathering for Professor Kongjian Yu in Boston
On December 13, 2025, a clear and quiet winter day in Boston, a memorial gathering for Professor Kongjian Yu was held at the Boston Architectural College (BAC). Scholars, designers, representatives of philanthropic organizations, as well as Professor Yu’s family members, close friends, colleagues, and students gathered together among his works, ideas, and memories to honor a pioneer of China’s ecological civilization and a global thought leader in landscape planning and design.
The memorial took place within BAC’s concurrent retrospective exhibition,The Ground We Touch – A Living Archive of Kongjian Yu’s Landscapes. Before the ceremony began, attendees moved slowly through the exhibition galleries, where project drawings, visual documentation, academic publications, and a commemorative life album were quietly displayed—like moments of time held still—collectively narrating Professor Yu’s lifelong practice of “design for the earth.”
The memorial gathering opened with remarks by Yufan Gao, representing the Boston Architectural College and serving as curator of the exhibition. She extended a warm welcome to the guests, reflected on Professor Yu’s long-standing and meaningful academic ties with Boston and BAC, and introduced the program and speakers, formally opening a gathering filled with remembrance and respect. The memorial reflections then unfolded in sequence.
The first speaker was Professor Yu’s daughter, Hope Hongmeng Yu, who shared heartfelt memories of her childhood with her father. She recalled how she gradually came to understand nature and ecology under his influence, and spoke of her own journey from computer science toward an eventual convergence with the ecological and landscape world to which her father devoted his life. Her words were gentle yet resolute, tracing the profound and lasting influence her father had on her life.
Next, Vivian Tian, Professor Yu’s assistant and a representative of Turenscape, spoke on behalf of the firm’s staff. She expressed the deep sorrow felt by all colleagues at Professor Yu’s passing, recalled him as a guiding thinker, dedicated practitioner, and spiritual pillar, and affirmed Turenscape’s commitment to continuing the ideas and work he established—ensuring that his vision continues to grow upon real ground.
The third speaker was Stephen Ervin, one of Professor Yu’s mentors at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he serves as Assistant Dean for Information Technology, Director of Computer Resources, and Lecturer in Landscape Architecture. He recalled site visits with Professor Yu in Boston not long ago, as well as many years of intellectual exchange and friendship. He concluded his remarks with a moving tribute delivered in Chinese, simple and sincere.
Following him, Gary R. Hilderbrand, Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture at Harvard GSD, reflected on inviting Professor Yu to lecture and engage with the school. He spoke highly of Professor Yu’s extraordinary contributions to global landscape architecture, urban ecology, and professional education, and expressed Harvard’s intention to continue deepening its collaboration with Turenscape, advancing ecological thinking through practice.
Anne Whiston Spirn, Professor at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, then addressed the gathering. A longtime friend and academic peer of Professor Yu, she reflected on their enduring mutual support and intellectual companionship. She read aloud the nomination letter she had written recommending Professor Yu for the profession’s highest lifetime honor—the Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award—affirming his remarkable achievements while expressing deep sorrow at his passing and hope that his ideals and mission would continue.
Unable to attend in person, Dihua Li, Vice Dean of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Peking University, delivered a video address. He reflected on Professor Yu’s foundational contributions to the theory of ecological security patterns in China, as well as their shared efforts in establishing the College at Peking University. He affirmed his commitment to continuing Professor Yu’s ideas through education and the cultivation of future generations of landscape and planning professionals with a strong ecological sense of responsibility.
Representatives of the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation then spoke. Executive Director Sonja Plesset, a longtime friend of Professor Yu, recalled his profound influence on the Foundation’s work in education, environmental stewardship, and social innovation. Foundation co-founders Cathy Stone and Jim Stone jointly reflected on their site visit with Professor Yu to Cathleen Stone Island in Boston the previous year. They highlighted his invaluable insights into ecological conservation and his guidance for the Foundation’s Stone Living Lab climate change research direction through the vision of a “Sponge Planet,” which continues to resonate today.
Next, Cynthia E. Smith, Curator of Socially Responsible Design at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum,shared her memories of being invited to climate summits organized by Professor Yu in China and accompanying him on project visits across multiple regions. Through years of collaboration and exchange, a deep friendship emerged. She also recalled witnessing Professor Yu receive the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award, and announced plans to present his work and ideas at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in the coming year, allowing his thinking to reach an even broader public.
The memorial concluded with a video message from Professor Yu’s son, Hongjin Yu, CEO of Turenscape. He solemnly expressed his commitment to carrying forward his father’s legacy and spoke of leading Turenscape into a new era where artificial intelligence and ecological wisdom coexist, continuing to advance the development of future climate-adaptive cities and landscapes.
Following this convergence of remembrance and responsibility, the memorial gathering also reflected the global academic and professional community profoundly shaped by Professor Yu. Attendees included his classmates Ma Xiaowei and Frederick Steiner, Dean of the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania; Kay Chubbuck, Vice President at Longwood Gardens; Anita Berrizbeitia, Professor of Landscape Architecture and former Chair at Harvard GSD; Gretchen Rabinkin, Executive Director of the Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA); Elizabeth Hermann, department head at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD); and representatives from Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA), including Laura Solano and Emily Mueller De Celis.
Colleagues from Harvard GSD—Jungyoon Kim, Karen Lee Bar-Sinai, and Rosalea Monacella—and from the Boston Architectural College—Karen Nelson, Ian Taberner, Sara Bourque, and Adrian Fehrmann—were also present. The memorial was open to the broader professional community, with colleagues from China GSD, MYKD, MVVA, Stimson, BSLA, and RISD joining in person or in spirit, forming a collective tribute that crossed geographies and disciplines.
The memorial gathering was restrained yet deeply moving—solemn and warm. Through shared remembrance and reflection, it became increasingly clear that the ideas and courage Professor Kongjian Yu inspired in the world, the profession, education, and countless individuals will not fade with his passing, but will continue to take root, spread, and grow upon the land he so deeply cared for.
He is gone, but the ground he shaped—and the ideas behind it—will continue to grow.
In everlasting remembrance of Professor Kongjian Yu.
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