Designers of Mountain and Water: Alternative Landscapes for a Changing Climate

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 exhibition gathers leading “Designers of Mountain and Water” to present their visions of alternative landscapes for a changing climate. Designers of Mountain and Water features more than 45 works of landscape architecture by 23 practices in Asia. These projects are organized by bioregions defined by geography, geology, fauna, flora, and other ecological and climatological characteristics, as well as the population settlements and cultural features shaped by such conditions.

A related symposium on February 5 and 6 features world-leading landscape architects and scholars from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, as well as Australia and the United States. They will discuss the perspectives, histories, politics, and the most compelling projects of sustainable design in the regions.

Organized by the Graduate School of Design and Korea Institute, Harvard University.
Supported by the Harvard University Asia Center and the Southeast Asia Initiative, Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard-Yenching Institute, Kim Koo Forum at the Korea Institute, and Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. The project is also supported by Daniel Urban Kiley Exhibition Fund at the GSD.