MAD Architects

Ma Yansong/MAD Architects has unveiled an update on the new Shenzhen Headquarters of Tecent, a global leader in internet and technology services.    The campus development for the new headquarters includes five parcels over 80 hectares east of Da Chan Bay Island in Qianhai, Bao'an District, Shenzhen. Lot 04, designed by Ma Yansong/MAD Architects, totals 412,000 square meters in gross floor area and features two biomorphic office towers interconnected with a raindrop-shaped building.  Courtesy MAD Architects MAD's Lot 04 East design responds to Tecent's goals of creating a low-carbon, human-centred technology park. The company strives to meet the highest standards of ecological responsibility and accessibility in li... More

Designed by MAD Architects, the newly completed ZGC International Innovation Center will serve as a permanent venue for the yearly Zhongguancun Forum (ZGC Forum), an international conference with a focus on innovation and technology. The center’s combined biomorphic, clover-like form and accessible green roof creates a new architectural landmark in Zhongguancun. A major tech hub in the Haidian District of Beijing, Zhongguancun is referred to as “China's Silicon Valley”. CreatAR Images MAD Architects The innovation center spans a total floor area of almost 65,000 square meters (699,654 square feet) above and below ground and is topped by an extensive 17,000-square-meter (182,986-square-feet) green roof. T... More

Founded in 2004 by Ma Yansong, MAD Architects has quickly become one of the world's most notable and inventive design firms. MAD works in forward-looking environments developing futuristic architecture based on a contemporary interpretation of the eastern spirit of nature.  MAD's projects - from residential complexes to offices and cultural centers - desire to protect a sense of community and orientation toward nature, offering people the freedom to develop their own experiences. The firm is based in Beijing with satellite offices in Los Angeles, New York City and Rome.  With its cutting-edge concepts, reimagining the limit of design, the firm has secured the top place in Archello's 100 best architecture firms in the world. Her... More

Scheduled to begin construction in 2024, Nanhai Art Center by MAD Architects present a compelling vision for a Grand Theatre, Museum, and Sports Centre that bridges the cities of Guangzhou and Foshan.  MAD Architects Beneath a series of floating canopies on the waterfront, the architects explain that the three main programs together and their surrounding public spaces sit in harming with the natural surroundings and are infused with elements that capture the humble spirit of Southern Guangdong alongside Nanhai's traditional culture. "The local culture of Southern Guangdong is always about the gathering of people. To keep the same lifestyle, it has to be contributed by the contemporary cultural venues. The design of the Nanhai... More

Architect Ma Yansong, founder of MAD Architects, designed “The City of Time" to house the Aranya Theater Festival’s Migratory Birds 300 residency program. The Aranya Theater Festival is the first seaside theater festival in China. The event takes place in Beidaihe, a coastal community and district of Qinhuangdao, a city in northern Hebei, China. MAD Architects Aranya Theater Festival, MAD Architects Qi Ziying A metaphor for avian migration, Migratory Birds 300 is the centerpiece of the Aranya Theater Festival. It is described as “the most romantic, imaginative, and polyphonic of the Aranya Theater Festival programs.” First introduced in 2021 by Director Liu Chang, Migratory Birds 300 is an immersiv... More

In Beverly Hills a new residential complex is enveloped in a 600 square meter living art wall. Designed by MAD Architects, it’s the largest of its kind in the United States. The project’s facade supports over 40,000 plants consisting of 30 species.When the designers from MAD Architects first visited Los Angeles, they drove the city’s streets and were struck by the number of single-family homes largely hidden from view, only partially visible from behind tall planted hedges that lined the properties. “All you can see are the tops of the roofs in L.A.,” says MAD’s Associate Partner Flora Lee. “We thought it was intriguing in terms of the city’s characteristics. It triggers one’s curiosity,... More

In the main atelier of Milan Design Week 2023, MAD Architects, in collaboration with Interni, Axa Immobilaire, and Alts, have revealed their installation entitled "Momentum."  Moreno Maggi The 8-meter by 12.5-meter iron cube structure sits evocatively at an angle of 45 degrees from its base. The architects, led by Ma Yansong, explain the simple nature of the cube is used as a carrier to undertake different forms of art expression. The cube consequently presents itself as a continuously changing art form in its own right.  In the daytime, the ETFE polymer skin of the cube reflects the surrounding environment of the courtyard of Statale University. At night, the installation transforms into something transparent and ether... More

MAD Architects has presented the design for the Dance House in Rotterdam. The Provimi warehouse on Katendrecht will be transformed into a home for professional and amateur dance companies, with dance studios, an exhibition space, a dance salon and an open-air amphitheater on the top floor. Copyright Proloog The Provimi warehouse stands next to the Fenix II warehouse, which is currently being transformed into a museum of migration. The high silo of the feed mill, which stands behind the warehouse, will be demolished; the warehouse itself will be returned to its original state. The existing roof volume, added later, will also disappear. The transformation will leave the existing structure of the building intact as much as possible,... More

MAD Architects, in collaboration with the China Airport Planning & Design Institute Co., Ltd. and the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design Co., Ltd., have revealed the international competition winning entry for the Changchun "Longjia" International Airport Terminal 3 in China.  MAD Architects Totaling nearly 270,000 square meters in built area, the airport will accommodate a staggering 54 aircraft gates. It is anticipated that 22 million passengers per year will pass through this new air transportation hub, serving a regional population of 23 million people. MAD Architects The terminal building that greets visitors from the high-speed rail "Longjia Station" or the nearby parking structures features a disti... More

Ma Yansong's MAD Architects have completed their first social housing project - Baiziwan Social Housing. Located in downtown Beijing, the sprawling enterprise accommodates 4000 households over 12 Y-shaped residential towers, with a total construction area of 473,300 sq. m on a 93,900 sq. m site.   Yansong is a passionate advocate for social housing and teaches on the subject at both Tsinghua University and the Beijing Architecture University. He was invited to spearhead the project by Beijing's Public Housing Centre in 2014, based on extensive research he had conducted on the design and historical development of social housing in a range of different countries.  ArchExist MAD Architects have a mission of developing fut... More

Beijing-based and globally expansive MAD Architects has completed ‘Gardenhouse’, its first realized project in the USA.  The mixed-use residential primary scheme is located on iconic Wilshire Boulevard in California’s luxurious Beverly Hills neighbourhood.  Credit: Nic Lehoux MAD Founder and Principal Ma Yansong’s design philosophy is anchored in the ‘Shanshui City’ approach which seeks to choreograph design of the built environment in concert with that of the natural environment and create structures which fulfill the spiritual and emotional needs of their inhabitants, and Gardenhouse stands as an embodiment of this philosophy. Credit: Nic Lehoux Consisting primarily of residential... More