Tongji University × University of Pennsylvania Jointly hosted

Design with Nature Now 2025 Asia Touring Exhibition

 Opening Soon

Ian McHarg (1920-2001) was a pioneer in ecological planning, and his theories and practices had a profound impact on the global environmental protection movement. His book Design with Nature, published in 1969, pioneered the concept of ecological planning, expounded the inseparable interdependence between human beings and nature, proposed important methods of ecological landscape design and sustainable regional planning, and aroused the public's deep concern about environmental issues. On the 56th anniversary of the publication of this landmark work, the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University and the Weitzman School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania jointly organized the Design with Nature Now 2025 Asia Tour Exhibition （Shanghai） to commemorate this great work and its outstanding contributions. It is also another important academic event of cooperation between Tongji University and the University of Pennsylvania. The opening ceremony of the exhibition will be held on July 6, 2025 at the Yangpu Riverside in Shanghai.

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.

Some exhibits of the Designing with Nature Now 2025 Asia Tour Exhibition: Ecological Analysis and Regional Planning Map, Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania, 1968

Shanghai Practice Unit: We specially invited 15 well-known planning and design companies from Shanghai, China, where this exhibition is held, to tell the responses of architects, planners, and landscape architects to the current pressing issues through landscape planning and design practice in Shanghai: loss of biodiversity, rising sea levels, deteriorating water quality, soil pollution, urban expansion, heritage protection, etc. Through creative and visionary ecological design methods, we reflect the response of China's urban and rural development and environmental protection 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 12 countries and is fully guided by 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 practices. This unit will focus on showcasing the outcomes of the summer school.

Previous summer school planning and design super master plan

Exhibition opening ceremony: 09:00 am, July 6, 2025 (Sunday)

Exhibition period: July 6-August 6, 2025

Exhibition 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

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

Co-organizers

Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.

Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning and Design Institute Co.,Ltd.

Shanghai Fengyuzhu Culture Technology Co., ltd

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

Tong Ming | Professor, School of Architecture, Southeast University

William WHITAKER | 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 (English)

Curatorial Executive Committee

YANG Chen | 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

You need to register in advance to attend the opening ceremony. Registration information is required for admission on the opening day. Please scan the QR code below to register your personal information before July 2, 2025. You need to pay for your own round-trip transportation, food and accommodation.