MAD Architects

Founded by Chinese architect Ma Yansong in 2004, MAD Architects is a global architecture firm committed to developing futuristic, organic, technologically advanced designs that embody a contemporary interpretation of the Eastern affinity for nature. With its core design philosophy of Shanshui City – a vision for the city of the future based in the spiritual and emotional needs of residents – MAD endeavors to create a balance between humanity, the city, and the environment.

Globally recognized as a creative pioneer, founding principal Ma Yansong is a central figure in the worldwide dialogue on the future of architecture. Ma was named one of the “10 Most Creative People in Architecture” by Fast Company in 2009. He received the prestigious “International Fellowship” from Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 2011, and was selected as “Young Global Leader (YGL)” by World Economic Forum (Davos Forum) in 2014.

In 2014, MAD was selected as principal designer for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Chicago, USA, becoming the first China-based architecture firm to design an overseas cultural landmark. In 2006, MAD won the design competition for the Absolute Towers in Mississauga, Canada. The residential project is composed of 56-story and 50-story high-rises and was completed in 2012. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) awarded the towers “Best Tall Building Americas” in 2012 and EMPORIS ranked them first in their 2013 “Skyscraper Awards.”

MAD has been commissioned by clients of various backgrounds for design in urban planning, urban complex, museum, theatre, social residence, old neighborhood renovation, and artworks. Current ongoing urban projects include Chaoyang Park Plaza, a mixed-use urban complex project located in the new CBD of Beijing; Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center, a city-scale urban development of approximate 600,000sqm floor area in total; Huangshan Mountain Village, a master planning plus architecture design project with 450,000sqm site area. MAD’s signature cultural projects include Harbin Opera House (completed in 2015), Pingtan Art Museum (in design development stage), Ordos Museum (completed in 2011), and China Wood Sculpture Museum (completed in 2011).

MAD has on-going international projects located, respectively, in Rome, Paris, Japan, Chicago and Beverly Hills. In the heart of Rome, MAD is designing a complex multi-functional courtyard building, which contains apartments, office space, and a chapel with total usable area of approximately 23,000sqm. In Paris, MAD placed first in a competition of 96 teams to build a residential complex on the right bank of the River Seine. In Japan, MAD delivered an organic design for a local education center. The firm’s latest commission is a 13,000sqm mixed-use residential complex in the center of Beverly Hills.

In addition to architecture, MAD has been a pioneer in contemporary art and design. MAD has participated in significant exhibitions in the 10th, 11th and 12th Venice Architecture Biennales. MAD also participated exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Copenhagen), and MAXXI (Rome). An array of MAD’s architecture models have been acquired by the well-known M+ Museum (Hong Kong) as part of their permanent collections.

The firm’s design advances have been chronicled in a series of books: Mad Dinner, Bright City, Ma Yansong, and Shanshui City. MAD principals have been invited for speaking engagements at the American Institute of Architects, Architectural Association School of Architecture (London), World Economic Forum in Davos, Strelka Institute (Moscow), and the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture (London). MAD Architects is currently led by Ma Yansong, Dang Qun and Yosuke Hayano. MAD has offices in Beijing and Los Angeles.

Mad Dinner

Published in 2007

Publisher: Actar

ISBN 978-84-96954-21-2

Bright City

Published in 2012

Publisher: Blue Kingfisher

ISBN 978-988-15064-0-5

Ma Yansong

From (Global) Modernity to (Local) Tradition

Published in 2012

Publisher: Actar & FUNDACIÓN ICO

ISBN 978-84-15391-36-4

Shanshui City- Chinese

Published in 2014

Publisher: Imaginist

ISBN 978-754-95582-7-8

Shanshui City- English

Published in 2015

Publisher: Lars Müller Publishers

ISBN 978-3-03778-457-0

Fishtank

Published in 2015

Publisher: China Architecture & Building Press

ISBN 978-7-112-17911-4

2001- Scholarship for Advanced Architecture Research, American Institute of Architects (AIA)

2006- Young Architects Award, Architectural League of New York

2008- 20 Most Influential Young Architects, ICON

2009- 10 Most Creative People in Architecture, Fast Company

2010- Hutong Bubble 32: Best Preservation Project, Good Design is Good Business: China

2011- Ordos Museum: Best Museum, UED

2011- International Fellowship, RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects)

2011- 10 Most Innovative Companies in China, Fast Company

2012- Huangshan Mountain Village: Top 10 Conceptual Architecture 2012, Designboom

2012- “Fake Hills”: Best Architecture Multiple Residence, International Property Awards

2012- Absolute Towers: Building of the Year, ArchDaily

2012- Absolute Towers: Best Tall Buildings Americas, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)

2012- 21 for 21, WAN Awards

2013- Chaoyang Park Plaza: D21 Chinese Architecture Design in 21st Century, Beijing Design Week

2013- Absolute Towers: No.1, Skyscraper Awards 2012, EMPORIS

2013- Designer of the Year, 2nd Audi Arts and Design Award

2013- D21 Young Chinese Architect Award, Beijing Design Week

2013- Designer of the Year, Good Design

2014- Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort: No.3, Skyscraper Awards 2013, EMPORIS

2014- Chaoyang Park Plaza: Chinese Top 10 Buildings

2014- 100 Most Creative People in Business, Fast Company

2014- Ordos Museum: Winner, “Metal in Architecture”, WAN Awards

2014- Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center: Top 10 Housing projects of 2014, Designboom

2014- Chaoyang Park Plaza: Top 10 Towers of 2014, Designboom

2015- Power 100, Surface

2015- 8600 Wilshire: Design Concept Award, Los Angeles Architectural Awards

2015- Beijing Conrad Hotel: Beyond L.A. Award, Los Angeles Architectural Awards

2015- Global Design Power, Interni

2015- Most Influential Chinese Architects, Forbes China Edition

2015- Harbin Opera House: Ten Best Arts Centers, Architectural Record

2015- Harbin Opera House: The Amazing Architecture that captivated us in 2015, WIRED

2016- Harbin Opera House: Building Of the Year – Cultural Architecture, ArchDaily

2016- 40 Most Famous Architects of the 21st Century, Archute

2016- Harbin Opera House: “Architecture + Wood”, A+ Awards, Architizer

2016- “Fake Hills”: Honorable Distinction, 2016 China Best Tall Building, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)

2016- Harbin Opera House: Winner, “Performing Spaces”, 2016 WAN Awards

2016- The World’s Most Innovative People Awards, World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship

2004- 1st Architecture Biennial Beijing, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China

2006- MAD Under Construction, Solo Exhibition, Tokyo Gallery, Beijing, China

2006- MAD In China, Solo Exhibition, Diocesi Museum, Venice, Italy

2006- Shanghai Art Biennale, Shanghai, China

2007- MAD In China, Solo Exhibition, Danish Architecture Center (DAC), Copenhagen, Denmark

2008- China Design Now, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK

2008- Superstar: A Mobile China Town, Uneternal City, 11th Venice Architecture Exhibition, Italy

2009- Contemplating the Void: Interventions in the Guggenheim Museum, New York, USA

2010- Feelings Are Facts, Olafur Eliasson + Ma Yansong, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing, China

2010- Rising East: New Chinese Architecture, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany

2011- Verso Est: Chinese Architectural Landscape, MAXXI, Rome, Italy

2011- Living, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen, Denmark

2011- Chengdu Biennale: Changing Vistas: Creative Duration, Chengdu, China

2011- Beijing Design Week, Beijing, China

2011- Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture, Shenzhen, China

2012- Between the Modernity and Tradition, Solo Exhibition, ICO Museum, Madrid, Spain

2013- Shanshui City Exhibition, Solo Exhibition, Beijing, China

2013- Palace of China – Architecture China 2013 Exhibition, Segovia, Spain

2013- West Bund 2013: A Biennial of Architecture and Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China

2013- Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture, Shenzhen, China

2014- Building M+: The Museum and Architecture Collection, Hong Kong, China

2014- “Future Cities -- High Mountain, Flowing Water” China Shan-Shui City Design Exhibition, Berlin, Germany

2014- “Silhouette Shanshui”, “Across Chinese Cities- Beijing”, 14th Venice Architecture Exhibition, Venice, Italy

2014- “The Changing Skyline”, Beijing Design Week, Beijing, China

2014- Shanshui City Exhibition, Solo Exhibition, Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing, China

2014- “Chengnan Project: Qianmen Xianyukou Masterplan”, Beijing Center for the Arts (BCA), Beijing, China

2015- Architecture for Dogs, Shanghai Himalayas Museum, Shanghai, China

2015- Shenzhen & Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture, Shenzhen, China

2016- “Invisible Border”, Milan Design Week, Milan, Italy