Founded by Ma Yansong in 2004, MAD Architects is led by Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, and Yosuke Hayano. It is committed to developing futuristic, organic, technologically advanced designs that embody a contemporary interpretation of the Eastern affinity for nature. With 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.
MAD's projects encompass urban planning, urban complexes, municipal buildings, museums, theaters, concert halls, and housing, as well as art and design. Their projects are located in China, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States. In 2006, MAD won the design competition for the Absolute Towers in Mississauga, Canada. Through this, MAD became the first Chinese architecture firm to build a significant high-rise project abroad. In 2014, MAD was selected as principal designer for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, USA, becoming the first China-based architecture firm to design an overseas cultural landmark. MAD’s signature cultural projects include Ordos Museum (2011, China), Harbin Opera House (2015, China), Tunnel of Light (2018, Japan), China Philharmonic Concert Hall (under construction), Yiwu Grand Theater (under construction), FENIX Museum of Migration in Rotterdam (under construction), Cloudscape of Haikou (2021, China), and Shenzhen Bay Culture Square (under construction). Other urban projects include the Clover House kindergarten (2015, Japan), Chaoyang Park Plaza (2017, China), China Entrepreneur Forum Conference Centre (2021, China), Jiaxing Train Station (under construction), Quzhou Sports Campus (under construction), and Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center (under construction), among others.
While practicing architecture, MAD documents and discusses its reflections on architecture, culture, and arts through publications, architectural exhibitions, as well as academic lectures and presentations. MAD’s publications include Mad Dinner, Bright City, MA YANSONG: From (Global) Modernity to (Local) Tradition, Shanshui City, and MAD X. MAD has organized and participated in several contemporary art and design exhibitions, including MAD X, a solo exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in 2019; Shanshui City, at UCCA in 2014; Feelings are Facts, a spatial experience exhibition with artist Ólafur Eliasson at UCCA in 2010; and MAD in China, a solo exhibition at the Danish Architectural Center, Copenhagen in 2007. MAD has participated in significant exhibitions at several iterations of the Venice Architecture Biennale and Milan Design Week. MAD has also participated in 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 Centre Pompidou and M+ Museum (Hong Kong) as part of their permanent collections.
MAD has offices in Beijing (China), Jiaxing (China), Los Angeles (USA), and Rome (Italy).
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 & Foundation 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
MAD Works MAD Architects
Published in 2016
Publisher: Phaidon
ISBN 978-0-71487-196-7
MAD X – 10 Projects by MAD Architects
Published in 2019
Publisher: HYX Editions
ISBN 978-2-37382-016-4
2009 A+U Special Issue, December issue: MAD Rabbit
2009 PHAIDON Feature: MAD Architects
2011 ICON Cover Report, 094 issue: ABSOLUTE TOWERS – It’s a MAD world
2012 Abitare Special Edition, 031 issue: Being Ma Yansong
2013 Hachette Publishing House: MAD Architects
2015 RIBA Cover Report, December issue: Mad for it
2015 Architectural Record Cover Report, December issue: Harbin Opera House – Arts Centers
2015 Abitare Cover Report, December issue: Harbin Opera House
2016 MARK Cover Report, 059 issue: Harbin Opera House – Step into the Madhouse
2016 Ppaper Cover Report, 165 issue: Harbin Opera House
2016 AZURE Cover Report, February issue: Harbin Opera House – Iconic Buildings
2016 Domus (China) Cover Report, 105 issue: Harbin Opera House – Greater China
2016 WA Cover Report, 308 issue: Harbin Opera House – Architecture and Music: Indulging with Time
2016 Perspective Cover Report, March issue: Harbin Opera House – Sculpted by Wind & Water
2016 Time + Architecture Cover Report, March issue: Harbin Opera House – Beyond Orient and Occident, North and South The Universal and the Particular in Contemporary Architecture
2017 UED Special Edition, 105 issue: MAD International Practices
2017 ICON Cover Report, 168 issue: Huangshan Mountain Village – Radical Landscape
2017 Abitare Cover Report: Chaoyang Park Plaza – Beijing: a Future Constellation
2020 Time + Architecture Cover Report: Yuecheng Courtyard Kindergarten – Floating, a Form of Historical Dialogue
2020 C3 Cover Report: YueCheng Courtyard Kindergarten — A flowing kindergarten playground roof surrounds a traditional Beijing courtyard building Interview
2020 A+U Special Issue: Dreamscape
2020 Frame Cover Report: Yuecheng Courtyard Kindergarten – Post-pandemic schooling
2020 Riba Journal Cover Report: YueCheng Courtyard Kindergarten — MAD’s Beijing kindergarten gives kids the right to roam
2021 Time + Architecture Cover Report: The Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Center – Construction of Sign Situation for Architecture in Cold Region