About Me

 Peiwen Yu, RLA, ASLA, is a Principal at SWA Group with more than two decades of experience leading landscape architecture and urban transformation projects across the United States and Asia. Her career includes work with SWA, A&N+ in Los Angeles, Studio P+D in Houston, EDAW in San Francisco, and the Beijing Tsinghua Urban Planning and Design Institute. Her built work includes the 21-kilometer Shenzhen Longgang River Blueway, recipient of the 2026 ASLA Professional Honor Award in Urban Design; the 6-kilometer Shenzhen Bay Shekou Postindustrial Promenade, featured by China Central Television as one of China’s most beautiful urban coastlines; the Suzhou MixC mixed-use development, including the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Suzhou; and Haihao International Tower in Guangzhou’s new central business district. Her current work includes Generation Village, a retail and mixed-use destination in Houston, and the Santa Fe and Downtown River Parks Master Plan in San Angelo, Texas. In 2015, Peiwen founded Ren Chi Space as a design philosophy and independent think tank focused on research, writing, and adaptable methods for shaping meaningful urban places across diverse cultural contexts.

Click here to see Peiwen’s aspiration of work and travel in a short video.   

Peiwen holds B.Arch, MUP, and MLA degrees, with academic training at Tsinghua University. Outside of practice, she enjoys travel, photography, reading, museums, and exploring cities through their landscapes and everyday life.

Professional Affiliation

Member, American Society of Landscape Architects

Professional Awards 

ASLA Professional Honor Award, Urban Design, Longgang River Blueway, 2026

ASLA Texas Chapter Honor Award, Design Unrealized, East Blocks, 2025

ASLA Texas Chapter Merit Award, Design Constructed, Poly Vita Residential Community, 2025

ASLA Texas Chapter Merit Award, Design Constructed, Haihao International Tower, 2025

ASLA Texas Chapter Merit Award, Design Constructed, Wuhan Huafa Community Park, 2024

ASLA Texas Chapter Merit Award, Design Constructed, Shenzhen Longgang River Blueway Project Phase I, 2024

ASLA Texas Chapter Award of Excellence, Design Constructed Public Category, Sanshan Hillside Park, 2023

ASLA Texas Chapter Merit Award, Design Unrealized Public Category, Guangzhou Waterfront Design, 2023

 The 5th China Real Estate Award, Landscape Design Merit Award, Shenzhen Bay Shekou Promenade, 2019

 ASLA Texas Chapter Merit Award, Design Constructed Public Category, Shenzhen Bay Shekou Promenade, 2018 

2017 Winner, International Design Competition – Nanhai Guicheng Riverfront Parks System Planning and Design

ULI Urban Open Space Award Winner, Nanhai Thousand Lantern Lake Park, 2015

First Place Winner, Shenzhen Bay Park Extension Landscape Design Competition, 2014

Top Three Winning Proposals, Shenzhen Bao’an West Dynamic Coast Urban Design International Competition, 2014

ASLA Texas Chapter Award of Excellence, Design Category, Nanjing Kylin Eco Campus, 2015

ASLA Texas Chapter Honor Award, Planning Category, Zhuhai Qiao Ecotourism Island, 2014

CIHAF Design China, Gold Award in Landscape Category, Shenzhen Bay Waterfront Park, 2013 

IFLA Asia Pacific Award of Excellence, Shenzhen Bay Waterfront Park, 2012

ASLA Texas Chapter Honor Award, Design Category, Nanjing AVIC Town Development, 2012

ASLA Texas Chapter Honor Award, Constructed Public, Shenzhen Bay Waterfront, 2012

ASLA Texas Chapter Merit Award, Planning & Analysis, Nanjing Hexi New Town Development, 2010

ASLA Texas Chapter Merit Award, Built Residential, Vanke Mountain Living Community, 2010

International Awards for Livable Communities, Silver Award – Vanke Mountain Living Community, 2008

TSA/AIA Design Award (Texas Society of Architects) – Westchase Long Range Plan, 2005

Publications

Picture Window Courtyard, Beijing CRLand West Mountain Living Space Place Making, September 2016

Edge, Complexity and Informality in shaping places for 528 Art Village, ARCHIDOGS, May 2015

Observations on Tourism Development Trend in China and example of Zhuhai Qiao Eco Tourism Island, Tongji University Journal of Tourism Development and Planning, April 2014

Connected Terraces for Mountain Living – Beijing Hillside Community, Sina Weibo, July 2013

Vanke Mountain Living Community Design, World LA Magazine, July 2013

Beijing Hillside Community Design, World LA Magazine, July 2013

Forward for China Landscape Top 100, September 2012 

Lectures

Live Broadcast, Revitalization of Urban Waterfront Practice and Case Studies, Landscape Weekly, March 2021

Presentation, Shekou Promenade – a Cultually Resilient Public Space Honoring Shekou’s root, The 5th China Real Estate and Design Award, Shanghai, China, May 2019

Presentation, Creative Studio of Postindustrial Urban Placemaking, Asian Chamber of Commerce, Executive Program, Houston, Texas, November 2018

Lecture, Landscape Design and Urbanization – International Young Architect Forum, ISA, Beijing China, June 2013