Professor Jun Zhai, Professor of Landscape Architecture at Soochow University.
Professor and Chair
Department of Landscape Architecture
School of Architecture
Soochow University, Suzhou, China
Founding Principle, E.A.S. T.Scape
E-mail: info@eastscape.com
Blog：http://blog.sina.com.cn/eastscape
Add: P.O.Box 25, Soochow University, Dushu Lake Campus,
Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China
Jun zhai is a Chinese-American landscape architect, urban theorist, and educator. Zhai is Professor of Landscape Architecture at Soochow University’s School of Architecture. Zhai is also an award-winning landscape architect with over twenty years professional experience both in New York and China and the Founding Principal of E.A.S.T.scape based in Shanghai whose focus is on the re-establishment of ecological open space systems within dense urban area. He is also very interested in design and cultural issues, especially when “old” meets “new” in the vast Chinese urban context. Zhai’s teaching and research examines the relations between landscape, ecology, and contemporary urbanism, and focuses on the relationships between ecological thinking and design practices. He is author of numerous articles on these subjects, and his writing has been published on peer reviewed Journal papers in China. Through his career both as educator and practitioner, Zhai also seeks to further the dialogue of design through creative collaborations with professionals and academics on projects at various scales of complexity and context. He studied with Ian McHarg and James Corner at University of Pennsylvania where he received his MLA.
Education and Professional Membership
MLA (Master in Landscape Architecture), Landscape Architecture Department, University. of Pennsylvania,1992
MLA (Master in Landscape Architecture), Landscape Architecture Department, Beijing Forestry University. 1990,
BLA (Bachelor of Landscape Architecture), Landscape Architecture Department, Nanjing Forestry University. 1984
Member, American Society of Landscape Architects, since 1995.
Member, Chinese Association of Landscape Architecture, since 2012
Selected Awards and Honors
2013 Honor Award, Designer Plaza Competition, Beijing International Garden Expo.
2010 Third Place，International Design Competition for 220ha TaoLake and Urban Design, Heife, China
2007 Third Place，International Design Competition for 155ha West Mountain LakePark
2005First Place, International Design Competition for 60ha Seven Star Park, Haian, China
2001 Environmental Excellence Award , Route 21 Freeway Extension, Federal Highway Administration
2004 Merit Award for Design Excellence, Rt. 29 Deck Park, American Society of Landscape Architects, New Jersey Chapter
1988 Merit Award IFLA ASLA
Journal papers – peer reviewed (in Chinese with English abstract)
2014 Jun Zhai, From Urbanized Landscape to City as landscape: The City = Park Approaches of Scape_city,
Architectural Journal, 2014（01）：80－85
2013 Jun Zhai, Towards a New Paradigm of Artificial Nature: From Ecological Design to Designed Ecology,
New Architecture, 2013（04）：16－19
2012 Coordinative Symbiosis: From Grey Municipal Infrastructure And Green Ecological Infrastructure To Integrate
Landscaping Infrastructure, Planner, 012（09）：71－74
2012 Learning from Nature Should not Based on Predominance of Its Aesthetic Appearances:
Landscape as Performative or Working System, journal of Chinese Landscape Architecture, 2012（05）：113－115
2012 A Study on Scape_city Prototype based on Theories of Landscape Urbanism, Architectural Journal, 2010（11）：6－11
2009 A Train that Left a Flourishing Park in Its Wake -The New York High Line Park, Landscape Architecture/
Landscape Architects,2009（6）：39－45
2010 From Productive Landscape to the Infrastructure of Productive Landscape: Rediscovery and Representation of Chinese Agri-tourist Landscapes, Landscape Architecture Frontiers, 2010(01):32-38
2009 The Overview of American Cemeteries, 2009(03):19-22
2009 The Deconstruction and Reorganization of Chinese Garden Elements—The Landscape Design of Guangling New Town Information Service Industry Base, Yangzhou City, journal of Chinese Landscape Architecture, 2009(8):63-66
2008 Landscape Urbanism, New Architecture, 2008（2）：88－94
