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

This seminar explores contemporary landscape architecture in Northeast and Southeast Asia to envision the future of sustainable design in the face of climate change. Students will meet world-leading practitioners and scholars, learn about their practices and research, and participate in a workshop and symposium, “Designers of Mountain and Water: Alternative Landscapes for a Changing Climate,” on February 5-6, 2026. At this event, students will share their coursework with the designers they have studied, and selected class work will be exhibited at Druker Gallery.

The seminar begins with the concept of “mountain and water”–shanshui in China, sansui in Japan, sansu in Korea–a Sinographic compound rich in artistic and philosophical meaning across Asia, reflecting traditions that combine vital elements of dynamic landscapes. In the context of climate change, we ask: what contemporary elements are needed to design sustainable places for human habitation and flourishing? Leading landscape architects in the region are addressing this question by rethinking the interplay between social and natural forms to design new, habitable futures. The seminar gathers these “Designers of Mountain and Water” to present their alternative visions for a changing climate.

While working with landscapes is ancient, landscape architecture as a profession is modern. In the U.S., it has just under two centuries of history; in Northeast and Southeast Asia, the profession is even newer, emerging mainly in the latter half of the 20th century. The field developed differently across regions, shaped by local traditions and specific socio-political and economic changes. Initially, landscape architecture in Asia arose as states began large-scale projects to shape nature for specific social purposes, tied closely to political boundaries and modernist ideals. In recent decades, global cultural exchange has brought some of the world’s most innovative approaches to landscape design from this region.

The seminar moves beyond a nation-state framework by focusing on bioregions–areas defined by geography, ecology, and cultural patterns–reflecting how landscape challenges cross political borders. As climate change demands broader solutions, a transnational, bioregional perspective is needed to address issues spanning over 50 sovereign states in Asia. This approach seeks sustainable, regionally appropriate design responses untethered from administrative lines.

By mid-semester, each student will select a landscape architect and a bioregion where the designer has completed a project. Students will analyze the designer’s responses to their chosen bioregion through readings, interviews, project documentation, and lectures. The semester’s final work will be a 1,500-word paper and a deep, comprehensive section drawing, representing the results of their semester- long research.

The seminar welcomes students from all degree programs. Please refer to the course syllabus for more detailed content of the course.

Note regarding the Fall 2025 GSD academic calendar: The first day of classes, Tuesday, September 2nd, is held as a MONDAY schedule at the GSD. Courses that meet only on Tuesdays will meet for the first time on September 9th. Courses meet regularly otherwise. Please refer to the GSD academic calendar for additional details.