Chinese architect Kongjian Yu, known for his "sponge cities," dies in a plane crash

Chinese architect Kongjian Yu, known worldwide for developing the concept of "sponge cities," died in a plane crash in Brazil along with the three other occupants of the plane, local police announced on Wednesday, September 24.

Kongjian Yu, 62, was a leading figure in sustainable urban planning. The concept of "sponge cities" involves replacing traditional urban surfaces with porous materials and green spaces to better absorb water into the ground and better address flood risks.

This concept has been implemented in many cities in China, but also in the United States and Russia.

Born in a small village in Zhejiang Province, China, Kongjian Yu was a professor at Peking University, where he founded a school of architecture.

The cause of the accident, which occurred Tuesday evening in a rural area of the Pantanal, a vast wetland in the southern Amazon, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (central-west), has still not been established, according to the police.

The other three victims were Brazilian filmmakers Luiz Fernando Feres da Cunha Ferraz and Rubens Crispim Jr., documentary filmmakers, and the pilot and owner of the plane.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his "sadness and dismay," while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended its condolences to the Chinese government and people on the architect's death.

Kongjian Yu arrived in Brazil in early September to participate in the Sao Paulo Contemporary Art Biennial (southeast). He was going to the Pantanal to shoot a documentary with the two filmmakers, the Architecture and Urban Planning Council (CAU) explained in a statement.

"His concept of 'sponge cities' has been applied in more than 1.000 projects in 250 cities," the CAU added, noting that the architect "championed nature-based solutions to address urban flooding and the effects of the climate crisis."