Yang Zhang
“Capture the charm of the site and develop a holistic design in harmony with its surroundings; the beauty of the design resides in the integrated process of form and performance. Be a practical inventor at all times.”
Trained as both an architect and landscape architect and deeply influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s “organic architecture” philosophy, Yang has been a project leader collaborating with world-renowned design firms to develop integrated landscape design for a number of landmark high-rise buildings around the globe. These landscape designs prove not only to enhance the building’s iconic contextual statement, but also to connect it to its surrounding environment, redefine and improve upon the character of its urban space and enrich people’s experiences.
Yang has also recently extended her portfolio to include large-scale park venue designs and public realm development. Her most recently built projects are the major public realm for the Dubai Expo 2020, including the central Al Wasl Plaza.
Yang approaches each individual project as a unique challenge, seeking innovative design solutions that address aesthetic, functional, social, and environmental issues simultaneously. Because today’s projects demand a nuanced understanding of environmental issues, mobility, and the psychology of comfort, mobility that are inextricably tied to landscape design, she has been leading the Sausalito studio’s responsive micro-climate design initiatives, which infuse the art of landscape with science and data.
In her more than 12 years of working in different countries and regions and working with a wide range of clients and consultants from many disciplines, Yang has demonstrated a highly collaborative spirit that contributes to projects’ success and earns long-lasting partnerships with many returning clients.
EDUCATION
Master in Landscape Architecture II, Harvard Graduate School of Design (2011)
Master in Landscape Architecture, Tsinghua University (2008)
Bachelor in Architecture, Tsinghua University (2006)
AWARDS
Architecture MasterPrize (AMP), Recreational Architecture, Expo 2020 Al Wasl Plaza, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2022
Re-Thinking the Future Awards, First Award, Cultural Built, Expo 2020 Al Wasl Plaza, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2022
The Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award – Exposition, Expo 2020 Al Wasl Plaza, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2021
The Chicago Athenaeum Green Good Design Award – Green Architecture, Expo 2020 Al Wasl Plaza, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 2021
ASLA Texas Chapter, Award of Excellence in Design Constructed: Commercial, Nanjing Kylin Eco Campus Phase One Office Building, 2015
ASLA Texas Chapter Honor Award, Design Unrealized-Commercial, Nanjing AVIC Science and Technology City, 2013
ASLA Texas Chapter Merit Award Design Unrealized Public, Yuan Dang Lake, 2013
The Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award, Suzhou Greenland Center, 2013