In a Geographic Perspective: Architecture, Planning and Landscape

The third symposium in the joint 'SN Forum' series on knowledge and architecture between Newcastle University and Southeast University in China took place in Nanjing, China on 28 and 29 March 2026. This symposium was the first to address the topic of Geography within the context of architecture and was split into three sessions:

• Theorising Geographies
• Historicising Geographies
• Designing Geographies

Fifteen speakers from nine instituions around the world attended and presented their research at the conference. Speakers included architects, critics, theorists and historians. The In a Geographic Perspective: Architecture, Planning and Landscape symposium was organised as a response to, and to address the broad questions of:

• In a time of major global change, including shifts in political power, environmental challenges, and growing debate about how land is used, architecture is increasingly looking at places and regions in new ways. Has architecture begun to take a more geographic approach?
• In what ways is the discipline of architecture, in practice and with reflective thinking, transforming itself into a geographic universe? 
• What is the geographic in architecture?
• How do we reconceive the ideas and positions of architecture as a geographic enterprise?

Symposium content

Theorising Geographies

Philip Ursprung (ETH Zurich), Ana Miljacki and Cristina Parreno Alonso (MIT), and Adam Sharr and Jianfei Zhu (Newcastle University), delivered papers in this first session. While Anna, Christina and Adam worked respectively on planetary, geological and cartographic theorization, Philip and Jianfei examined artists and architects’ interventions with landscape, in Europe and Asia respectively.

Historicising Geographies

Xu Hao (Nanjing Forestry University), Sophia Psarra (UCL), and Zhu Guangya, Chen Wei and Zhuge Jing (SEU), delivered their studies in a historical perspective. Sophia and Wei studied canal systems in Venice and Yangzhou, whereas Jing examined the role of global mapping in the age of imperialism. Hao and Guangya examined a Chinese approach to landscape at two scales – garden and fengshui, revealing an oriental conception of nature.

Designing Geographies

On Designing Geographies, Alexandre Theriot (ETH Zurich), Stephanie Bru (BRUTHER + Karlshruhe Institute of Technology), Rafi Segal (MIT), Zhuang Shen (Shanghai Jiao Tong University), Tong Ming (SEU), and Samuel Austin (Newcastle University), delivered studies on design in geographic perspectives. While Rafi, Alexandre and Stephanie discussed their practice in the States and Europe, Shen and Ming examined their designs in China in urban or landscape conditions. Samuel, from a critic’s perspective, explored a geographic imagination in Dutch design traditions.

David Leatherbarrow, Zhang Tong, Paola Gazzola and Jianfei Zhu delivered opening addresses, representing the two schools. Ge Ming, Zhu Yuan, Li Hua, Samuel and Adam delivered opening and concluding remarks as well.

What’s next for the partnership?

This is the third in the symposia series which alternates hosting between Newcastle University and Southeast University in China. The event will return to Newcastle in Spring 2027 for the second symposium on 'Geography' with the following two focusing on the third topic of Visuality. 

The whole six-year project (2024-29) aims to examine three main topics in architectural knowledge: History, Geography and Visuality.

Led by Jianfei Zhu and Ge Ming, the series is financially supported by Newcastle University through the International Office, the PVC Global Fund and the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape. As a seeding project, it has sparked initiatives and is leading to more teaching and research collaborations in other schools between the two universities.

Impact on teaching and learning experience

As the symposium is a joint project – known as ‘SN Forum’ – taking place at Southeast University and Newcastle University in alternative years, it benefits students in both institutions. The events are greatly beneficial to research students as it allows them to learn from other academics as well as providing the chance to present their own work for discussion.

There are also opportunities for teaching staff to lecture to students in both the UK and China thanks to online learning technology. Professor Jianfei Zhu is a guest lecturer for Masters and PhD students at SEU, and has delivered an annual talk there since 2012. You can find examples of this knowledge exchange here.

In 2024, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SEU which has encouraged their students to come to study at Newcastle University, therefore raising the profile for both partners in China, the UK and beyond. This strong partnership with SEU is a clear example of the benefits of global academic partnerships for research potential and student experience, which can act as a blueprint for other disciplines.