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