The sad news of the untimely passing of Kongjian Yu is still only sinking in. I got the message from Li An Phoa while at New York Climate Week. Kongjian did so much to help us make our cities and our planet, a greener place. He captured our imaginations with his Sponge City concept. That was a very important part of it. He created a vision, that seemed impossible then through vision, tenacity and passion, helped bring one into reality. He believed, when others doubted and couldn’t see what he could see. He wrote letters to over 500 mayors until one, believed in the vision.
We captured story of his journey in Our Blue World: https://lnkd.in/eHDED9v2
He was a hero of mine. They say you shouldn’t ever meet your heroes, but in my experience, if they are water heroes, it’s OK. Like many water pioneers, he had a humility, that didn’t belie his confidence.
We are all grateful that he burned brightly and devoted his life. He had truly found his ikagai.
My favourite memory of him is watching him cycling his bicycle through his Sponge City in Hainan, a fulfilled and happy man.
He was one of our heroes in Our Blue World, Brave Blue World Foundation
