WINNER OF THE 2025 RAIC INTERNATIONAL PRIZE The restoration of the 23-kilometre-long Meishe River corridor has alleviated flooding and water pollution caused by sewage in the tourist city of Haikou, in south China. Photo courtesy Turenscape In recognition of the pressing planetary urgency of climate change, the RAIC’s Resolution for Urgent and Sustained Action on Climate and Ecological Health, and the RAIC 1.5°C Climate Action Plan, the 2025 theme for the RAIC International Prize is Climate Action. The 2025 Prize seeks to recognize an architect, a practice, or an architecturally focused group that exemplifies design excellence in climate action and regenerative development and design.  This year’s International Prize recipient is Beijing-based Turenscape, led by Dr. Kongjian Yu. Turenscape has profoundly shaped the urban landscape of more than 250 cities globally through over 1,000 projects. Guided by their philosophical foundation of “Nature, Man, and Spirits as One,” Turenscape seeks to promote harmony between land (Tu) and humanity (Ren) and to create sustainable environments for the future. As part of the Haikou Meishe River Restoration, a terraced wetland park provides natural filtration for urban water runoff. Photo courtesy Turenscape Turenscape’s foundation and body of work resonated with the selection committee, who noted that Turenscape “celebrates beauty and ecology, drawing lessons from natural systems to develop holistic responses that regenerate degraded urban ecosystems, increase resilience to flooding and sea level rise, cultivate natural habitats in urban areas, and create inspiring spaces that foster human reconnection to our natural world.” Turenscape’s portfolio of work aims to redefine the fields of urbanism and landscape architecture through projects that foster a deep and lasting connection between communities and urban ecologies, allowing both to flourish over time. Their work addresses the interconnected contemporary challenges of climate change, ecological degradation, and urban expansion.  Benjiakitti Forest Park, created on the site of a former tobacco factory in downtown Bangkok, absorbs stormwater and provides the area’s largest public recreational space. Photo courtesy Turenscape/Arsomslip As cities around the world struggle to respond to the escalating challenges of climate change including urban flooding and sea level rise, Turenscape has gained international recognition for the Sponge City concept. Sponge City designs draw inspiration from natural water flows and traditional methods for managing water during the monsoon season in rural China. This nature-based approach focuses on ecological restoration to support the natural cycles of water flow and absorption. By doing so, these designs improve urban resilience, alleviate flood risks, reduce urban heat island effects, and offer low-carbon solutions that enhance biodiversity, air quality, and urban aesthetics. Additionally, they offer inspiring places for community to reconnect with urban ecologies and contribute to broader urban climate adaptation efforts.  In 2013, Turenscape’s Sponge City vision was adopted as a national policy in China, prioritizing large-scale nature-based infrastructures. Key features of this approach include wetlands, greenways, parks, canopy tree and woodland protection, rain gardens, green roofs, permeable pavements, and bioswales. This work sets a powerful precedent for designing with water as a living system, rather than treating it as a threat. What stands out is its scalability and adaptability: it goes beyond a theoretical concept and is now shaping urban planning policies. Nanchang Fishtail Park is a flood-resilient forest with raised boardwalks in Nanchang, China. Photo courtesy Turenscape The interconnected climate and biodiversity crises necessitate architectural strategies that enact forms of “radical repair” beyond the building and hard infrastructures. As built environment professionals, we must design urban environments that promote the healing of the land and support the ongoing flourishing of life. Where life does not flourish, we ultimately cannot thrive. Sponge Cities set a precedent for practices worldwide, showcasing how water can be skillfully celebrated as a creative resource, the foundation of living systems, and an invaluable natural asset. Turenscape’s Sponge City work offers a model for transforming our understanding of living in harmony with nature in a changing climate. Their work celebrates beauty and ecology, drawing lessons from natural systems to develop holistic responses that regenerate degraded urban ecosystems, increase resilience to flooding and sea level rise, cultivate natural habitats in urban areas, and create inspiring spaces that foster human reconnection with our natural world.  Dr. Kongjian Yu advocates rethinking our relationship with water and land, promoting blue-green urban ecotones that adapt to the increasing severity of disruptions to Earth’s water cycle caused by human-induced climate change. Sponge City design offers a rapidly scalable, nature-based, and carbon-positive alternative to traditional, carbon-intensive, gray infrastructure solutions for climate change adaptation. Yu’s work integrates ecology, culture, and beauty, serving as an inspirational model for architects, urban planners, and landscape architects globally.   RAIC International Prize Honourable Mentions Photo by Ana Dermer / Woolly Lemon Creative Te Uru Taumatua, Te Wharehou O Tūhoe Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Aotearoa (New Zealand) Designed by Jasmax, Te Uru Taumatua is one of the most culturally and environmentally progressive buildings in Aotearoa, demonstrating a powerful fusion of Indigenous leadership, sustainability, and architectural excellence. Grounded in mana motuhake (sovereignty), it prioritizes Indigenous agency through co-governance. Its climate-positive strategies, net-zero systems, and circular material economy reinforce ecological reciprocity, while fostering social equity through local employment and upskilling. Photo by Ziling Wang DnA Design and Architecture China DnA Design and Architecture’s work, led by Xu Tiantian, celebrates the concept of architecture as acupuncture, where minimal interventions create maximum impact. DnA’s designs promote adaptive reuse and long-term sustainability by tapping into the community’s own cultural and physical resources. DnA contributes to placemaking that embodies temporality, simplicity, and playfulness, evoking a much-needed sense of ‘solastalgia’. Photo by Nasjonalmuseet / Ina Wesenberg Joar Nango Norway Joar Nango’s work redefines architecture through Indigenous innovation, ethical practice, and climate-conscious design. Nango advances reconciliation by reclaiming Sámi architectural identity and fosters social justice through community-driven spaces. His fusion of tradition and experimentation sets new benchmarks for climate-responsive, sustainable, and decolonized design.  Photo courtesy NLÉ NLÉ Lagos, Nigeria / Amsterdam, Netherlands NLÉ, led by Kunlé Adegyemi, addresses the urgent challenges faced by megacities in the global south, particularly in relation to rapid urbanization, climate change, and an unpredictable future. The selection committee wanted to recognize NLÉ for achieving maximum impact through minimal means, while promoting community engagement and empowerment, local materials, learning from local practice, simplicity in design, and adaptability. Photo courtesy Salima Naji Salima Naji Morocco Salima Naji’s work demonstrates how architecture can act as a campaign for building conservation with an environmental focus. It showcases the potential for an architecture of raw and bio-sourced materials and place-informed design, while rethinking the interface of ecology and culture.   The 2025 selection committee, chaired by Jason Robbins (PP/FRAIC, MAA) and co-chairs of the RAIC Committee on Regenerative Environments Mona Lemoine (FRAIC, Architect AIBC) and Joanne Perdue (FRAIC, Architect AAA, LEED Fellow), also included international design and industry professionals Afaf Azzouz (PEng BEMP), Dr. Harriet Hariss (Ph.D., RIBA, Assoc. AIA, PFHEA), Whare Timu, and Beatrice Galilee (Founder and Executive Director, The World Around). The diverse group was selected to reflect the intenational scope and ambition of the prize, ensuring a robust and insightful selection process. As appeared in the May 2025 issue of Canadian Architect magazine The post 2025 RAIC International Prize: Turenscape appeared first on Canadian Architect.