Sensual, organic, artificial: MAD Architects

From Domus 1026, July/August 2018. Mixing part-organic and part-neoparametric curvilinear forms, three recent projects by MAD invoke terms such as “sensual” and “sinuous”.

More than 15 years ago, MAD Architects and its founder Ma Yansong introduced China to the sculptural baroque architecture that aspires to play a compelling role on the new contemporary artificial Asian landscape. Be it the Harbin Opera House, a row of skyscrapers in the heart of Nanjing or the two small but sophisticated shiny steel bubbles that have taken over the roof of a Beijing hutong, this unsettling mix of part-organic and part-neoparametric curvilinear forms invokes terms such as “sensual” and “sinuous” to describe it. But does simply abolishing the idea of the right angle render all architecture subtly erotic?

You can read the complete article in Domus July/August 2018 issue.

Img.1 MAD Architect, Hutong Bubble 218, Beijing, China, 2018
. Photo Tian Fangfang
Img.2 MAD Architect, Hutong Bubble 218, Beijing, China, 2018
. Photo Tian Fangfang
Img.3 MAD Architect, Hutong Bubble 218, Beijing, China, 2018
. Photo Tian Fangfang
Img.4 MAD Architect, Hutong Bubble 218, Beijing, China, 2018
. Photo Tian Fangfang
Img.5 MAD Architect, Hutong Bubble 218, Beijing, China, 2018
. Photo Tian Fangfang
Img.7 MAD Architect, Opera House, Harbin, China, 2018. Photo Adam Mork
Img.7 MAD Architect, Opera House, Harbin, China, 2018. Photo Adam Mork
Img.8 MAD Architect, Opera House, Harbin, China, 2018. Photo Adam Mork
Img.9 MAD Architect, Opera House, Harbin, China, 2018. Photo Adam Mork
Img.10 MAD Architect, Opera House, Harbin, China, 2018. Photo Adam Mork
Img.11 MAD Architect, Opera House, Harbin, China, 2018. Photo Adam Mork
Img.12 MAD Architect, Opera House, Harbin, China, 2018. Photo Hufton+Crow
Img.13 MAD Architect, Opera House, Harbin, China, 2018. Photo Hufton+Crow
Img.14 MAD Architect, Opera House, Harbin, China, 2018. Photo Hufton+Crow
Img.15 MAD Architect, Zendai Himalayas Center, Nanjing, China, ongoing. © MAD Architects
Img.16 MAD Architect, Zendai Himalayas Center, Nanjing, China, ongoing. © MAD Architects
Img.17 MAD Architect, Zendai Himalayas Center, Nanjing, China, ongoing. © MAD Architects
Img.18 MAD Architect, Zendai Himalayas Center, Nanjing, China, ongoing. © MAD Architects
  • Hutong Bubble 218
  • MAD Architects – Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
  • 305 mq
  • 2018
  • Harbin Opera House
  • MAD Architects – Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
  • Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD) Institute No.3
  • Beijing Turenscape Institute
  • MAD Architects; Shenzhen Keyuan Construction Group Co.
  • Acoustic and Theater Special Design & Research Studio of East China Architectural Design & Research Institute (ECADI)
  • China International Engineering Design & Consult Co.
  • 78,967 sqm
  • 2018
  • Zendai Himalayas Center
  • MAD Architects – Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
  • CCDI Group; Nanjing Kingdom Architecture Design Co.
  • LEOX Design Partnership
  • Steve Leung Designers
  • Earth Asia Design Group (EADG)
  • 383,307 sqm
  • ongoing