Chinese architect and Peking University professor Yu Kongjian died in a plane crash late on Tuesday in the vast Brazilian wetlands of Mato Grosso do Sul state, Brazilian Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin said on Wednesday.

Yu, 62, gained global relevance as an architect and urban planner after the Chinese government adopted his concept of “sponge cities” using nature-based solutions to absorb and retain water instead of concrete infrastructure to channel it away.

The concept has since been adopted in hundreds of places in China as well as urban areas from the US to Russia.

Alckmin confirmed that Yu and three other people, the pilot and two local filmmakers, were killed when the aircraft they were travelling in crashed in a rural area near the town of Aquidauana, in the Pantanal wetlands.

“I received with sadness the news of the plane crash in the Pantanal,” the vice-president wrote on social media.

“Professor Yu made notable contributions to sustainable urbanism, the preservation of biodiversity and the protection of the planet. His legacy will continue to inspire all those dedicated to the ecological cause,” he added.