Think Like Water emerged through teaching and research across cities.
The idea seeded in the Greater Bay Area Research and Design Studio in Shenzhen University, and first developed through the HKU Singapore Studio, and later expanded through field observation in the Bay Area in California United States.
This journey gradually formed a perspective we call Bay to Bay — exploring the relationship between landscapes, urban life, and cultural systems across different coastal regions.
Origin
→ Bay to Bay
Bay to Bay
→ SZU GBA Studio
→ Bay Area Citywalk
→ Living Shore lines
Bay to Bay is an ongoing exploration across coastal regions and cities, observing how landscapes, cultures, and everyday life evolve in different environments.
The idea emerged through travels, teaching, and research between the Greater Bay Area in Asia and the San Francisco Bay Area in North America. These two regions, both shaped by water, technology, and rapid urban transformation, offer a unique lens for understanding contemporary life systems.
Bay to Bay is not a finished project.
It is an ongoing journey of observation and learning.
→ developing
→ The Sentient River
By Zhihang Luo & Hua Zhou
Hetao Vision: Innovative AI Video Competition Finalist
The Sentient River is an experimental AI-generated video developed through the Think Like Water (TLW) framework.
The project explores how artificial intelligence can be used as a medium to imagine future relationships between water systems, landscapes, and urban life.
The video presents the river not simply as infrastructure, but as a living system that connects ecology, culture, and the evolving city. Through narrative imagery and speculative storytelling, it reflects on how landscapes may “observe,” respond to, and interact with human activity.
The project was selected as a finalist in the Hetao Vision Innovation AI Video Competition, organized as part of the Shenzhen–Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (UABB).
Link: https://uabb2025.hkia.org.hk/en/ai-competition/
As an early prototype, The Sentient River represents an initial exploration of how TLW thinking can intersect with emerging AI tools to communicate spatial ideas and future environmental narratives.
→ HKU TLW Singapore Lab
This studio embraced a holistic approach, bridging urban design and landscape architecture under the "Think Like Water" philosophy, encouraging students to comprehensively explore urban landscapes.
Focused on water as a source of sustainable design inspiration and solutions for inclusive and resilient cities, the course used Singapore as the study site to explore innovative and sustainable design processes through four key steps:
1. Water as the Core Element in Discovering the City,
2. Interdisciplinary Vision and Narrative Development,
3. Urban Design Framework Creation, and
4. Innovative Landscape Design.
This studio exemplified the intersection of academic rigor and professional relevance, empowering students to envision and design sustainable urban landscapes for the next generation.
→ Living Shore lines
by Phil Enquist
