Professor Ian McHarg, the founder of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and a famous Scottish landscape designer, is one of the most influential figures in the global environmental protection movement. His book Design with Nature, published in 1969, pioneered the concept of ecological planning, expounded the inseparable interdependence between man and nature, proposed important methods of ecological landscape design and sustainable regional planning, and aroused the public's deep concern about environmental issues. The Design with Nature Now exhibition has been grandly held at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA in 2019, and in Taiwan, China and Nanjing, China in 2024.

On the 56th anniversary of the publication of this landmark work, Tongji University College of Architecture and Urban Planning and the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania jointly organized the Design with Nature Now 2025 Asia Tour Exhibition (Shanghai) and International Landscape Masters Forum to commemorate this great work and its outstanding contributions. It is also another important academic event of cooperation between CAUP Tongji University and the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania. The exhibition and forum will be held on July 6, 2025 at the Yangpu Riverside in Shanghai.

Design with Nature Now Exhibition

Academic Tribute Unit: Starting from themes such as Ian McHarg: The House We Live In and A Book of Days, the exhibition focuses on reviewing Ian McHarg's academic thoughts and practical concepts, as well as research on nature, geology, geography, landscape, etc. As the prologue of the entire exhibition, it also presents the audience with Design with Nature, a thought-provoking work that explores people, design and nature.

Shanghai Practice Unit: The exhibition uses urban and rural practice projects in Shanghai to tell the responses of architects, planners, and landscape designers to current pressing issues: loss of biodiversity, rising sea levels, water quality deterioration, soil pollution, urban expansion, heritage protection, etc. Through creative and visionary ecological design methods, it reflects China's urban and rural construction and environmental protection's response to global climate and environmental issues.

Youth Innovation Unit: The theme of the 2025 Tongji University CAUP International Design Summer School is [Fuxing Island Regeneration Plan from the Perspective of Digital Intelligence, Ecology, and Humanities]. This summer School has brought together students from many countries around the world and is fully guided by design mentors from China, the United States, Italy, the Netherlands and other countries. With Shanghai Fuxing Island as the design base, it will carry out a two-week planning and design innovation. This unit will focus on showcasing the work results of the summer school.

International Landscape Masters Forum

During the exhibition, the International Landscape Master Forum will be held, inviting well-known domestic and foreign landscape masters, experts, scholars, practitioners, and students to gather together to conduct academic exchanges and practice sharing around cutting-edge topics such as landscape research, practice, and education. The themes include:

• Ideological Continuation: A New Interpretation of Ian McHarg's Theory in Contemporary Environmental Challenges

• Innovative Practice: Cutting-edge cases for addressing key issues such as sea level rise, soil pollution, and urban expansion

• Future Vision: Design Education and Practice in Collaboration with Digital Technology, Ecology, and Humanities

Exhibition opening ceremony:

July 6, 2025 (Sunday)

International Landscape Masters Forum:

July 6, 2025 (Sunday)

Exhibition period:

July 6-August 6, 2025

Exhibition and forum venue: Shanghai Yangpu Riverside Minghua Sugar Warehouse (No. 415, Anpu Road, Yangpu District, Shanghai)

Guiding Unit

Tongji University

Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture

Shanghai Landscape Architecture Society

Organizers

College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University

Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

Co-organizers

Shanghai Yangpu Riverside Investment Development (Group) Co., Ltd.

Zhang Ming丨Professor, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University

Tong Ming丨Professor, School of Architecture, Southeast University

William WHITAKER丨Director of the Architectural Archives, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania

Chinese Landscape Architecture

Landscape Architecture

Gardens

Urban Planning Forum

Time+Architecture

Landscape Architecture and Sustainability

Curatorial Executive Committee

Yang Chen丨Exhibition Executive Team

Email: chen.yang@tongji.edu.cn

Address: Room 129, Building B, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai

Tel: +86 21 65983044