The College of Architecture (CoA) at Georgia Tech is leading an initiative to build the Sino-U.S. Joint Laboratory for Ecological Urban Design (Eco Urban Lab) in Shanghai, in collaboration with College of Architecture and Urban Planning (CAUP) of Tongji University, a leader in China in the area of urban development and architecture.

In early January, Dean Steve French and Associate Professor Perry Yang traveled to Shanghai to formally kick off the collaborative research endeavor. This is the second phase of the international collaboration between the two universities that began in 2010, and will focus on research in the area of eco urban systems design. This lab builds on the long-term relationship between Tongji University and Georgia Tech.

“The rapid urbanization in China is creating unprecedented urban forms and functions that lead to unpredictable environmental consequences, and that will have global impacts on climate change and resource use,” said Dean French. “I’m excited to see things get underway at the Eco Urban Lab. Being located on Tongji’s Shanghai campus provides unprecedented access to a wide array of research opportunities for us, which will lead to the development of cutting edge tools and understanding of sustainable urban models.”

The Eco Urban Lab will be co-directed by Perry Yang, associate professor at Georgia Tech and a faculty member at CAUP. It will have lab facilities in both Atlanta and Shanghai. The research agenda will focus on three areas – developing urban modeling and simulation tools, benchmarking performance of cities in China and the U.S., and issues emerging from rapid urban transition such as system complexity, resiliency and renewability in cities. The Lab aims for providing a platform to support faculty and students from both colleges to participate in its research activities. In addition to research projects, a joint seminar series will be organized by the faculty from both Colleges. The 2014 series includes Future Cities Seminars (spring 2014), and Ecological Cities Seminars (fall 2014). An International Conference on Ecological Urban Systems will be jointly organized by Georgia Tech and Tongji University, to be held in Shanghai in December 2014.

About the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University

http://en.tongji-caup.org/

About Tongji University

http://www.tongji.edu.cn/english/