Liu Huiying, Class 1 Registered Architect(PRC) and Senior Engineer, joined MAD in June, 2010. He has accumulated rich experience in architectural design and implementation. His working experience involves all phrases of architectural practices from conceptual design to construction. He has been responsible for various projects during their construction phases, namely Baiziwan Social Housing, Chaoyang Park Plaza, Roma 71 Via Boncompagni, Garden house, Paris UNIC, Chongqing Cuntan International Cruise Center, Harbin Opera House, and Quzhou Sports Park. Especially in the field of residential projects, ranging from luxury apartments to hotels, general residential communities and government social housing construction supervision, he is able to continuously pursue the realisation of high quality, high degree of completion of architectural works in architectural design and practice, and ensure that all parties work together to realise the project based on the maximum respect for the design and the idea of ultra-high standard.

Beijing Office

The proposal for the “Southbank by Beulah” competition reimagines the high-rise as a living part of Melbourne’s urban landscape. Challenging the city’s pattern of glass towers, the design introduces an organic silhouette inspired by mountains, trees, and clouds. This approach reconnects the city center with nature while offering a new landmark for the skyline.

The scheme consolidates its program into a single tower to preserve open sightlines, avoid overcrowding, and maximize views from residential and hotel floors. At the base, the podium breaks from conventional retail massing by forming a human-scale “mountain village.” This stepped environment features public pathways, terraces, and lush greenery that invite exploration and social activity.

As the tower rises, its structure evokes twisting roots through an exposed timber framework. Sky gardens and terraces are integrated throughout, vertically extending green space and enhancing the experience for residents and guests.

Crowning the tower is “the cloud,” a lightweight cantilevered structure made of translucent ETFE. It contains public hotel amenities and offers panoramic views of the city. Designed to dissolve into the sky, it blurs the boundary between architecture and atmosphere.

At street level, the design creates an accessible plaza and landscape that link the building to Southbank Boulevard, transforming the ground experience into a welcoming civic space.

Melbourne, Australia

Mixed Use

LI Cunhao, SUN Shouquan, Marco Gastoldi, Jennifer Perez-Rojas, WANG Xinyi, Thoufeeq Ahamed, LEI Lei, Jaime Cadarso, Reinier Simons

Southbank by Beulah

MAD was invited to design the Aquatic Center for the 2024 Paris Olympics in collaboration with Jacques Rougerie Architecture, Atelier Phileas, and Apma Architecture.

Located in Saint-Denis, adjacent to Stade de France, the center is one of only two new permanent venues for Paris 2024. It is connected to the stadium by a pedestrian bridge over a major roadway, forming a key urban link.

The design envisions the facility as a sculptural public artwork light, fluid, and responsive to the sky and city. Its curving, translucent form appears to float, shifting with sunlight like ripples on water. The structure accommodates 5,000 spectators during the Games and is designed to downsize post-Olympics, ensuring long-term usability.

Sustainability is central to the design. Around 70% of the building is constructed from wood to reduce carbon footprint. Solar panels help offset energy use, and rainwater is collected for irrigation across 6,000 sqm of landscaping.

A translucent curtain wall brings in natural light and serves as a 360-degree projection surface. During the Games, it will broadcast live events and local multimedia art, turning the center into an engaging public space by day and night.

Paris, France

Sports Infrastructure

Jacques Rougerie Architecture, Atelier Philéas architecture, Apma Architecture

SIGNES PAYSAGE

INGEROP

ARCORA

SOJA

ACOUSTIQUE & CONSEIL

Paris Olympics Aquatic Center

The Nanhai Art Center resembles a continuous wave of water, with three main buildings looming underneath the floating sun canopy. The semi-outdoor merges the central landscape of the lake with the programs, inviting the local communities to immerse themselves in the waterfront landscape.

The design intends to build a spiritual field by creating a coherent visual axis to the lake. The programs are planned on both sides of the central axis. The total floor area of the Grand Theater and the Museum is about 89,269 square meters on one side of the central axis, of which the Grand Theater includes a 1,500-seat amphitheater and a 600-seat multi-purpose hall, for a variety of performances and conferences; the Museum will meet the standards of a national-level museum upon completion.

The Sports Center is located on the other side of the site, with a gross floor area of about 32,006 square meters containing swimming pools, basketball courts, badminton courts, and other types of sports spaces and facilities.

The permeable facades allow nature to flow through the site back to the city. The two-story landscape platform extends outward, organically linking the central lake, riverfront park and urban space, achieving a harmonious balance between nature and architecture.

Commercial spaces are placed along the lake, radiating architectural texture to the lakeshore landscape belt. Cultural spaces are interspersed. The second-floor viewing platforms and outdoor patios connect three main functions together, also with the commercial and F&B space below to complete the visitor experiences and loop circulation. The top of the platform serves as a pedestrian space leading to the cultural spaces entrances.

Sustainability and green carbon reduction are fully integrated into the design concept from the start and form a narrative of building technology and innovation. Under the translucent white ETFE membrane structure roof, the Nanhai Arts Center incorporates energy-saving and environmentally friendly technologies, including photovoltaic power generation, rainwater collection, and vertical greening systems.

Foshan, China

Culture

Li Cunhao、Zhang Ying、Yoshio Fukumori、Zhou Rui、Peng Wanjing、Ma Yiran、Hao Ming

Foshan Nanhai Youwei Baiyue Culture Co.

Foshan Nanhai Liyayuan Real Estate Development Limited Company

MAD Architects

Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.

Shanghai Test Design Company

Ning Field Lighting Design Corp., Ltd.

China Institute of Arts Science & Technology

Nanhai Art Center

The City of Time is a temporary installation for Migratory Birds 300, a 300-hour artist residency held in Aranya, China. Inspired by avian migration, the project gathers 300 artists from diverse backgrounds to co-create by the sea.

Oriented along an axis facing the shoreline, the installation offers a space free from urban constraints where art, nature, and time converge. Over 300 hours, it hosts 131 group works and 194 individual pieces, including performances, installations, sculptures, and videos.

Unlike real cities shaped by utility, The City of Time prioritizes spiritual and creative expression. It becomes a communal space for reflection, collaboration, and experimentation.

Part of the Aranya Theater Festival, Migratory Birds 300 also extends to Regent’s Canal in London. The residency emphasizes shared living and working, encouraging new partnerships and collective creativity.

Dissolving after 300 hours, The City of Time leaves behind a brief but powerful experience an imagined city built for connection, expression, and transformation.

Aranya, China

Exhibition

Wang Yiqi, Yang Xuebing

The City of Time 2023

The Star is a proposed project, located on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood. Designed as a new model for the office of the future, the 22-story tower integrates nature, light, and open space throughout, promoting well-being and creativity in the workplace.

Inspired by the nearby Hollywood Hills, the building’s organic form softens the skyline while connecting urban life with natural elements. Terraced green spaces at street level and throughout the tower invite the public in and create shared moments between work and city life.

The building offers flexible floorplans with generous access to outdoor terraces and greenery, supporting a healthier work-life balance. Rather than treating nature as an amenity, it becomes central to the office experience. The tower’s mass tapers upward, creating varied spaces and views, and its design encourages collaboration and reflection.



Los Angeles, USA

Office

The Star

While the terminal was required to be massive in size, the design establishes an architectural program that is both efficient and human-centered. Five departure corridors are arrayed in a snowflake shape, which not only shortens the time it takes for passengers to arrive at their gates, but also echoes the geography and climate of Harbin. The spacing between the five aircraft piers allows five airplanes to take off simultaneously during high-traffic periods, enhancing performance further.

Ridges on the roof that mimic snowdrifts function as skylights, flooding the interior spaces with the warmth of the sun and reducing the need for artificial light. At the same time, their rhythmic arrangement naturally guides travelers through the terminal.

The interior has been landscaped with a number of indoor gardens that mark the key zones of the terminal. These lush areas of greenery connect the building’s different levels and offer an escape—passengers can pause and take a moment in nature, away from the hustle and bustle of airport life.

The Ground Transportation Concierge (GTC) is a vibrant green hub. A double-layered membrane skylight ensures sufficient natural lighting and ventilation and also creates a greenhouse effect, resulting in energy savings during the area’s frigid winters. The GTC also offers direct connections to high-speed rail and subway networks, encouraging people to choose more environmentally friendly modes of travel.

Harbin, China

Infrastructure

Li Cunhao, Sun Shouquan, Zhu Yuhao, Yao Ran, Ma Yue, Yang Xuebing, Giorgio Castellano, Connor Hymes, Chen Yien

Heilongjiang Airport Management Group Co., Ltd.

China Aviation Planning and Design Institute 

Central South Architectural Design Institute Co., Ltd.

Harbin Airport T3

The Hainan Science Museum, designed by Ma Yansong and his firm MAD, has opened to the public on the edge of Wuyuan River National Wetland Park. Since its trial opening, it has welcomed more than 350,000 visitors in four months, with peak days drawing more than 5,800 people.

"I wanted the project to be built on the idea of flow and chaos — space, function, and knowledge to flow into one another, freely.” says Ma Yansong, Founder and Principal Partner of MAD. "Different subjects should connect, overlap, and stay open. If artificial intelligence can already answer almost any question, a science museum's job is no longer to deliver facts. It is to teach children how to ask them."

On the frontline of China's space ambitions, a museum for the families next door

Hainan has quietly become part of China's scientific infrastructure. The country's only coastal spaceport sits on the island's east coast and has carried more than 40 launches since 2016, including missions to the Moon and Mars. The museum, named one of Hainan Province's "Top Ten Public Cultural Facilities," frames science not as a distant subject, but as something already happening in everyday life.

With more than 30 schools and kindergartens within a three-kilometer radius, Ma conceived the building from the first sketch as civic infrastructure for the families around it, closer to a public library than a destination landmark.

A wide canopy lifts off the ground floor, shading an open plaza beneath the museum and pulling public space under the building itself. Parents wait, students meet, residents pass through on the way home, and the lobby reads less like an atrium than a town square under a roof.

Architecture: One Spiral, Two Journeys, Three Cores

At the heart of the project is a single spiraling route that connects every gallery in the museum, walkable in either direction. Visitors who arrive at the top descend through ring-shaped galleries, moving from deep space and the ocean, down through Hainan's rainforests and tropical agriculture, and finally to a hands-on level for children. Those who enter at the ground floor walk the same path in reverse: from touch and play, expanding outward until the cosmos is overhead. Two directions, two readings of the same building. Subjects flow into one another rather than sit behind separate doors, and the order, by Ma Yansong's design, is the visitors to choose.

Structurally, the entire spiral is carried by three concrete core tubes. They eliminate columns from the exhibition floors and lift the ring-shaped volume above an open ground level, allowing the building to float over its reflecting pools and the canopy beneath it. The exterior is wrapped in 843 fiber-reinforced polymer panels that form a silver shell shifting with daylight, sky, and weather. The 46,528-square-meter complex also includes a planetarium, a giant-screen cinema, a sunken plaza, and shaded outdoor planting areas for hands-on plant and agriculture education all connected by a covered walkway.

It is, in some ways, the question Ma Yansong has been circling for two decades: how does a building stop being a container for content and start being the content itself? The Hainan Science Museum may be his clearest answer yet.

Together with MAD's earlier Cloudscape of Haikou, the small white reading pavilion that became a quiet phenomenon on the city's seafront, the Hainan Science Museum extends a sequence of public buildings westward along Haikou's coast.

Two projects, one architect, one coastline. For Ma Yansong, who has spent his career arguing that Chinese cities deserve emotional, even dreamlike public space, Haikou is becoming the clearest demonstration of that argument so far.


Haikou, China

Building Area

Above Ground

Underground

Wang Yiding, Chen Yiwen, Sun Feifei, Pan Siyi, Wang Shuang, Lyu Dechen, Yang Xuebing, Zhu Yuhao, Reem Mosleh, Alan Rodríguez Carrillo, Anri Gyuloyan, Rozita Kahirtseva, Zheng Chengwen, Wu Qiaoling, Feng Yingying, Edgar Navarrete

Haikou Association for Science and Technology

Haikou Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd.

CCDI

RFR Shanghai

EADG

MAD, CCDI

China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Corp., Ltd

Hainan Science and Technology Museum

Sustainable Energy
MAD’s scheme harnesses solar and wind energies to power the HyperloopTT system. The transportation tunnels are outfitted with bendable solar panel skin modules that are used to power the Hyperloop itself, along with LEDs installed along its surface that function as interactive information boards. Bladeless wind turbine forests positioned at certain sections of the HyperloopTT system will harness the vorticity of the wind, creating a main source of power for the transportation network, lowering overall energy costs.

Small Footprint
The pylon design minimizes the system’s physical footprint by lifting its functions almost 7 meters above ground. This eliminates the possibility of collision with road traffic, which in turn decreases the cost of land acquisition. It is composed of a single-mold fiberglass structure, proving its efficiency in both its development and usage.

Urban Farming
Sustainability is further emphasized through urban farming opportunities. The base of each pylon is conceived to host crop-growing facilities that encourage urban farming. The light energy sourced from the solar-powered LEDs allows the plants to be self-sustainable, forming a friendly, green environment – a truly organic infrastructure.

Worldwide

Transportation

Matthew Pugh, Wang Tao, Chris Nolop,  Nathan Kiatkulpiboone

HyperloopTT

The small town of Okazaki, where the school is located, boasts views of rice fields and mountains, characteristic of the Aichi prefecture. The kindergarten originally operated out of the client’s family home, where the school began as a humble operation. As space became tight, the client wanted to expand the kindergarten. The issue was that if the building were removed to create a larger space, the memories of the building, both as the family home and as a school, would be lost. Therefore, the design of Clover House respects both the tangible and intangible aspects of that history; the two-story family home has been maintained, but dynamically transformed into a fully developed educational institution.

MAD’s renovation preserved the original wooden structure but added a white otherworldly skin that gently wraps around the structure like a piece of cloth. It is a pure white canvas that brings to mind a magical cave or a pop-up fort and fosters curiosity and imagination. This architectural conversation between old and new cultivates social bonds between different groups of people, including the client, the children, their parents, and local residents, creating a sense of family and connection among them.

Visible throughout the main learning area, the interior space is translucent and enclosed so that it easily adapts to different teaching activities. Intimate areas are formed, creating private, public, and in-between spaces. Windows in various shapes recognizable to a child’s eye allow sunlight to sift in and create an ever-changing play of shadows that encourages students’ curiosity and imagination.

Okazaki, Japan

Education

Takahiro Yonezu, Yukan Yanagawa, Hiroki Fujino, Julian Sattler, Davide Signorato

Kentaro Nara, Tamaki Nara

Kira Construction Inc.

Takuo Nagai

Fuji Koji, Dan Honda

Clover House

A sculpture to sit on. A frozen form of space in continuous movement. A chair with a poetic focus on motion and fluidity. It is like an object, leaving a trace of its acceleration and strength. Aerodynamic, sleek and charismatic. The hollow metal supporting legs place the sculpture in a state of equilibrium with strength. The armrests create a leaning-forward posture with speed through simple curvatures. The chair incorporates movement, energy and spatial changes into its form.

Rome, Italy

Product

Gianluca Rovere

Dynamik Chair

LIU Huiying, Class 1 Registered Architect(PRC) and Senior Engineer, joined MAD in June, 2010. He has accumulated rich experience in architectural design and implementation. His working experience involves all phrases of architectural practices from conceptual design to construction. 

Andrea D’Antrassi is a registered architect in Italy and Switzerland, and received his Master’s Degree in Architecture from Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, Switzerland. He joined MAD in 2010. Andrea is responsible for managing MAD's practice in Europe and the Middle East, as well as overseeing the overall operations of the Rome office. With solid experiences gained from overseas projects in US, Italy, Australia and China, he adds a valuable global vision to MAD. Andrea has been involved with Roma 71 Via Boncompagni, Huangshan Mountain Village, Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center, and FENIX Museum of Migration in Rotterdam.

Rome Office

In 2000, Fram Kitagawa founded the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale with the intention of using art and culture to reinvigorate the Echigo-Tsumari area of Japan, whose population was aging. As part of the 2018 program, the Kiyotsu Gorge Tunnel was selected as a site for creation.

The 750-meter (2,460-foot) passageway originally built in 1996 provides the only opportunity to enjoy panoramic views over one of Japan’s three great canyons. However, over time it had gotten run down and it wasn’t functioning to its maximum potential.

Tunnel of Light restored the lookout platforms in uniquely artful ways. Each installation draws on the five elements of nature, reconnecting locals and visitors alike with the majestic beauty of the land.

Periscope, Expression of Color, Invisible Bubble, The Drop, and Light Cave chart a journey through the tunnel. They seek to bring new perspectives to the space and provide a spiritual sense of reflection, relaxation, contemplation, and introspection. Tunnel of Light allows visitors to transcend the role of observer, becoming active participants.

In 2018 alone, the Tunnel of Light attracted more than 180,000 visitors, triple the number seen in 2017. In 2019, the Japan Arts Council selected it as one of five works it believes exemplifies the rich scope of the country’s arts and culture on a global level.


Tokamachi, Japan

Adaptive Reuse

Hiroki Fujino, Kazushi Miyamoto, Yuki Ishigami

Green sigma Co., Ltd.

Tunnel of Light

MAD's design respects a 12-meter height limit, with the building gently spreading from north to south, blending into the cityscape with an accessible green roof park, consisting of trees, gardens, walkways, and architectural features that extends the surrounding gardens and hills making it completely disappear when viewed from the surrounding mountains.

The center's biomorphic, clover-like form features a cantilevered roof characterized by soft, fluid shapes. The form floats overhead, providing shade from the sun, shelter from the elements, and a space for social interaction, enhancing the connection between people and the architecture.

The transparent façade curtain wall, characterized by its lightness, transparency, and fluidity, follows the organic curves of the building's sculptural form. The concealed framing system and large glass panels encourages a fluid transition between indoor and outdoor realms creating a seamless integration with its surroundings.

MAD designed a simple interior with clean lines to create open, airy environment for the exchange of innovative ideas. The ZGC International Innovation Center features two giant ETFE membrane skylights, allowing natural light to flood the venue, enhancing the user's experience of space and light.

The functional space is laid out in a zigzag pattern, with the main venue, banquet hall and multi-function hall on the first floor being the main space for events; and a series of smaller meeting rooms and VIP lounges on the basement level to meet the needs of meetings of different scales and privacy.

The building’s roof is composed of 2,769 fluorocarbon-coated double-curved honeycomb aluminum panels. These panels, arranged in varying patterns of density, that cover the structure and facilitate rainwater collection. At night, lights hidden within the roof louvers synchronize with the roof lines. They create a sense of movement, echoing the endless traffic on the city roads further blending into the urban landscape.

The ZGC International Innovation Center’s ventilation system is hidden under the concrete "veins" of the suspended ceiling and green roof, giving the building a clean and simple appearance. The use of lightweight soils and low-maintenance vegetation on the roof reduces landscape operating costs while meeting roof loading requirements, landscape appearance and quality requirements.

Beijing, China

 Zhou Rui, Zhuang Fan, Hu Jing-Chang, Liu Yiqing, Xue Yawen, Yang Xuebing, Edgar Navarrete, Zheng Chengwen, Wang Shuobin, Wu Qiaoling, Alan Rodriguez Carrillo

Zhongjie (Beijing) Development and Construction Co., Ltd.

Beijing Institute of Architectural Design Co., Ltd. | The First Architectural Design Institute

Inhabit (Beijing) Ltd.

MAD, Beijing BIAD Decoration Engineering& Design Co., Ltd.

MAD, Guangzhou S.P.I Design Co., Ltd.

TORYO International Lighting Design (Beijing) Center Co., Ltd.

Beijing TaiFu GuangDa Lighting Design Inc.

To Three Design

Radio, Film and Television Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd

Arch Exist, CreatAR Images, Zhu Yumeng, ChillShine

ZGC Forum Conference Center

A 9x9x9-foot stack of ink-black ice blocks, which was made from soot-based ink of varying concentrations, weighing 27 tons, was placed on the ground of a public square. Over three consecutive days, the blocks continuously melted under the sun and wind, with the ink flowing and spreading across the square. As it melted, the form of the ice kept changing and evolving. After three days, only the naturally flowed black stains remained on the ground—the material itself had vanished, and even its abstract symbolic form disappeared, leaving merely the traces of time and an infinite space for imagination within the ink marks.

Installation 

Ink Ice

Drawing inspiration from Jiaxing’s historic and cultural contexts, MAD’s proposal includes a 1:1 rebuilding of the historic station building derived from archival studies, while creating a new train station underground. The new station will be bright, efficient, and human-scaled, with a flood of natural light to create a friendly, comfortable environment. The main transportation and commercial functions are to be located in the basement level, allowing the ground-floor space to be given back to nature. A shared space between Jiaxing’s citizens and travelers, this new green urban center will transform into a “train station in the forest.”

A 35.4 Hectare Urban Oasis
MAD’s proposal places the busy transportation junction underground, freeing the ground floor of obtrusive infrastructure, thus allowing the People’s Park to radiate through the scheme into the city, and form an urban oasis. A careful consideration to landscape and massing has formed an axis with the reconstructed old station building at its core. In front of the station, a large collection of canopy shaped trees have been planted, creating comfortable, natural shades for the plaza.

Rebuilding the Historic Station
The original Jiaxing Train Station was built in 1907, and opened in 1909 as an important junction for the Shanghai-Hangzhou Railway Line. In order to create a 1:1 reconstruction of the old station building, MAD engaged with scholars, consultants and experts in heritage architecture to recover data which might aid the project. The relationship and scale between canopies, bridges, platforms, and the building were calculated, allowing for a more accurate reconstruction of the historic station and its features. Upon completion, the old station building will become the Jiaxing Railway History Museum.

A “Train Station in the Forest”
Looking south along the central axis, the rebuilt station building and the “floating” metal roof of the new station will blend with the forest trees. The station concourse, platforms, and waiting hall are hidden underground, while the building’s single-story height above ground level humbly respects the scale of the old station building.

An abundance of natural light floods into the underground waiting hall through skylights and glass curtain walls on the ground floor, creating a subterranean space which is both open and bright. As people move from the waiting hall to the platforms via a futuristic underground tunnel, they observe the rebuilt old station building overhead. Here, a moment is created where old meets new, and a sharp yet composed contrast is showcased between the past and future.

On the roof of the new station, solar photovoltaic panels will be installed to enhance the project’s sustainability.

Beneath the urban oasis, a wide variety of functions and services are connected with each other. For instance, visitors at street level can efficiently enter and exit the transport hub, while others meander through the park, visit the railway museum, or explore the commercial area before embarking on their train journey.

A series of transport options are linked throughout the underground system, directly connected to the sunken municipal roads. Bus terminals, a tramway, metro, car parking, and taxi stands are interconnected by the proposed scheme.

The capacity of the train station will be upgraded to three platforms serving six tracks, in contrast to the previous three platforms serving five tracks, with the main upline and downline becoming two arrival and departure tracks respectively. The overall passenger capacity is expected to reach 5.28 million people per year, with peak-time capacity reaching 2,300 people per hour.

Jiaxing, China

Yao Ran, Yu Lin, Cao Chen, Chen Nianhai, Cheng Xiangju, Reinier Simons, Fu Xiaoyi, Chen Wei, He Shunpeng, Li Zhengdong, Cao Xi, Zhang Kai, Li Xinyun, Kaushik Raghuraman, Deng Wei, Huang Zhiyu, Huai Wei, Sun Mingze, Dayie Wu, Hou Jinghui, Yin Jianfeng, Claudia Hertrich, Liu Zifan, Xie Qilin, Alan Rodríguez Carrillo, Qiang Siyang

Jiaxing Modern Service Industry Development & Investment (Group) Co., Ltd.

Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd., China Railway Siyuan Survey and Design Group Co., Ltd.

Shanghai Shuishi Architectural Design & Planning Corp.,Ltd

Z’scape Landscape Planning and Design

Beijing Sign Lighting Industry Group

NDC CHINA, Inc.

Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration & Landscape Design Research Institute Co., Ltd.

LERA Consulting Structural Engineers

China Railway Construction Engineering Group, China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group, China Construction Eighth Engineering Division Co., Ltd.

Jiaxing Train Station

In Feelings are facts (2010), Olafur Eliasson and Ma Yansong challenge our everyday patterns of spatial orientation. Vision functions as our primary, default sense for navigation, but this expansive installation induces initial insecurity in its visitors by radically reducing visibility, thereby suggesting the need to invent new models for perception. Basing this project on a series of previous experiments with atmospheric density, Eliasson introduces condensed banks of artificially produced fog into the gallery, whose dimensions have been further altered by substantially lowering the ceiling and constructing an inclined wooden floor. Hundreds of fluorescent lights are installed in the ceiling as a grid of red, green, and blue zones. By permeating the fog, these lights create coloured walk-through spaces that, in Eliasson's words, function to "make the volume of the space explicit." The coloured zones introduce a scale of measurement in the gallery, their varying size and organization referencing urban planning grids. At each colour boundary, two hues blend to create transitional slivers of cyan, magenta, and yellow. Walking through the dense, illuminated atmosphere, visitors can navigate by using this intuitive colour atlas. Another means of navigation is the floor construction. Whereas movement on a plane sur face can be effortlessly accomplished, the sloping floor challenges visitors to readjust their balance, constantly having to shift their weight and body posture to counterbalance the inclination. This fact emphasizes the crucial role of the moving body in our perception of our surroundings. The further visitors venture into the space, the steeper the floor gets, until the point where it becomes a wave-like curved wall. Since the ceiling imitates this construction, a seemingly boundless space is discerned above.

Olafur Eliasson


Space and light bring life into existence. There is no space, unless given light and boundary. Space has never existed, but rather exists only in the specific feelings it induces. Space in reality, exists only in sensuality. With expanding desire, everything is managed with utmost efficiency. Our feelings and sensibilities are seeing facts in the context of habituated life. Not until shutting our eyes, can we feel the world from within, space and light will touch your soul.

Ma Yansong

Jérôme Sans, Guo Xiaoyan

Olafur Eliasson & Ma Yansong—Feelings are facts

MAD’s design for Quzhou sports park embeds the functions of the sports park within natural forms, creating an earth-art landscape in the center of the city.

The perimeter of the site is surrounded by a dense forest of high-standing trees that secludes the uninhabited land from the city. As one enters, the view suddenly opens up towards broad horizons and the bright sky, while simultaneously appearing as a martian landscape, mysterious and illusory. As people move through the park, they drift, climb, and traverse the terrain.

Resembling a crater, the stadium sits into the ground, forming a deep space. It is crowned by a translucent “halo” that gently hovers above the ground like a floating cloud. Its proximity to the earth makes it seem within reach – close but untouchable – inviting people to engage in a dialogue between the earth and the sky, and discover spiritual truth. The adjacent rolling “hills” on the northeast side form the gymnasium, natatorium, and training centre. Above are public spaces and natural scenery that attract people to look up and pause in a moment of contemplation.

The buildings in the park breakaway from that of traditional stadiums and athletic complexes that typically highlight structural power, transformed by a more intrinsic and subtle beauty. The interiors and exteriors of the buildings are connected to nature, providing an openness towards the landscape for people from anywhere, so that they always feel like they are immersed in nature. Pathways between the mountains and the lake meander over and through the architecture. They encourage people to slowly walk around the park, run along the trails, or just enjoy a seat on the lawn to take in the scenery.

The “peaks” and “mountainsides” of several of the “hills” are designed with platforms or skylights that allow natural light to flood onto the interior, and provide natural ventilation through the buildings. The exteriors are covered in greenery, which while being energy-saving, are also human-scale and accessible.

“Quzhou Sports Park” abandons the traditional urban construction model of conventional large square landmarks. Drawing on land art and the natural landscape, it forms a unique urban space, one that is embedded in the spiritual understanding of the people, nature, and culture of the city.


Quzhou, China

XU Chen, LI Cunhao, LI Guangchong, LI Gang, Iting LIEN, Kyung Eun Na, MA Yin, Thoufeeq AHMED Alessandro FISALLI, LI Hui, Tian JIN, ZHANG Kai, MA Yue, Melanie Weitz, ZHOU Haimeng, XIAO Yuhan, Yuki ISHIGAMI, Luis TORRES, SU Le, KANG Wenzhao, Pittayapa SURIYAPEE, YU Lin, Neeraj MAHAJAN, ZHANG Bo, Connor HYMES, ZHANG Yufei, WANG Qi, SONG Minzhe, CAO Xi, LIU Hailun, ZHANG Xiaomei, ZHENG Kangcheng

Quzhou West District Development Committee, Quzhou Baoye Sports Construction and Operation Co., Ltd

CCDI Group

PWP Landscape Architecture, EADG, Yong-High Landscape Design Consulting Co.Ltd

Schlaich Bergermann Partner

SC Consultants Limited

RFR Asia

Ning's Field Lighting Design

Kenya Hara (Nippon Design Center, Inc.)

Quzhou Sports Park

The China Philharmonic Concert Hall in Beijing is the orchestra’s first exclusive residence.

The concert hall is located on the south side of the Workers’ Stadium, close to Sanlitun, which is one of the city’s most thriving areas. In contrast to its busy surroundings, the China Philharmonic Concert Hall offers a moment of stillness—a pure and sacred oasis in the middle of the bustling city.

The concert hall poetically emerges like a piece of jade. As people approach the building, they are attracted to the soft glow of its translucent glass facade. Even amidst the hustle and bustle of urban life, the concert hall gently floats upward, quieting the atmosphere. That is when the music journey begins.

When one enters the lobby, which is awash in natural light, one can feel the transition from the urban setting to a context dominated by music and nature. The 1,600-seat main concert hall features a vineyard-style layout with white sound reflection petals that resemble the segments of a lotus flower. Lighting and images can be projected onto the petals and choreographed to match musical performances.

On the south side of the building is a 400-seat rehearsal hall, which includes a professional recording studio, a library, a gallery, offices, rehearsal rooms, and other auxiliary spaces.

Fu Xiaoyi, Brecht Van Acker, Zeng Hao, Li Guangchong, Jacob Hu, Xiao Ying, Dora Lam, Zhao Wei, Shen Chen, Dmitry Seregin, Zhu Jinglu, Yukan Yanagawa, Wang Deyuan, Hiroki Fujino, Zheng Fang, Sear Nee

China Philharmonic Orchestra

Nagata Acoustics

Radio Film & Television Design & Research Institute (DRFT)

China Construction International (Shenzhen) Design Consultant Co., Ltd.

SIGN Lighting

Beijing Honggao Interior Design Co., Ltd.

Palm Design Co., Ltd.

Beijing Homedale Institute of Urban Planning & Architectural Design

China Philharmonic Concert Hall

Cloud Center is a multi-purpose cultural venue for Aranya, a seaside arts community in Qinhuangdao, China. Located near the Beidaihe coastline, the building is conceived as a “floating cloud by the sea,” blending architecture with landscape and sky.

The structure houses a theater, exhibition hall, and press room within a flexible, open interior. Its cloud-like form is created through sweeping structural overhangs, with the largest extending 30 meters. These overhangs make the white mass appear to float above a transparent ground floor. A central core supports the structure, allowing for a column-free interior and adaptable event space.

The façade is made of hyperbolic white stained glass, giving the building a soft, reflective presence that changes with the light. Skylights bring natural light into the swirling ceiling of the main space, supporting both energy efficiency and the atmosphere.

A circular white stone garden surrounds the building, evoking a surreal, cosmic landscape. Pools and reflective surfaces blur the line between architecture and nature, creating a peaceful, otherworldly setting.



Gallery

Yin Jianfeng, Liu Hailun, Chen Hungpin, Edgar Navarrete, Pittayapa Suriyapee, Luis Torres, Chen Yi-en, Zhang Chao, Li Gang 

Shijiazhuang Pharma Group, Aranya

Zhongke (Beijing) Architectural Planning & Design Institute Co., Ltd.

RFR Shanghai, King Glass Engineering Co., Ltd.

Beijing Sunshine Landscape Co., Ltd

Montaigne Design Consulting (Shanghai) Ltd.

Lighting Stories (Beijing) Cultural & Creative Co., Ltd.

Beijing Junyi Rongchuang Cultural Communication Limited Company

Beijing Yaxun Yingda Technology Development Limited Company

Beijing Huaxin Sifang Architectural Technique Limited Company

Aranya Cloud Center

The terminal building was designed to add a human-scaled space with a calming presence to the Airport, both from a distance and from within. As visitors approach from the high-speed rail “Longjia” Station or the parking structure, they will be greeted by the terminal’s unique fan-shaped profile that resembles a floating feather — a nod to the airplanes that will be ascending and descending from its terminals throughout the day.

By adopting a three-fingered corridor structure surrounded by arcs, the terminal will maintain an overall harmonious layout in its connections to the T1 and T2 terminal areas while increasing the number of passenger seats near the aircrafts. The overall spatial layout will save land and reduce the amount of earthwork, while the roofline uses height differences to reflect the cross-connections of different transportation modes from above.

The subway station hall, in particular, is seamlessly integrated into the central space of the terminal building to reduce the number of transfers between the subway and the airport by reducing the distance between the terminal entrance and the east expansion station hall of “Longjia” Station to less than 200 meters.

The terminal also reflects the charm of Changchun as a "Garden City'' through the creation of what the design team has referred to as a "garden airport." The exterior space area is characterized by forests, lakes, meadows, and undulating terrain, while the indoor garden system combines trees, ground covers, and water features to create a "cold zone garden" that reflects the local climate.

Natural light is brought into the departure hall through the feather-shaped roof to create a bright and warm interior space that provides much-needed sunlight to the garden spaces within. The structural system continues the rhythm of the building's skin to express the logic of force transmission, which converges toward the center together with the skylight, guiding the direction of passengers naturally.


Changchun, China

Jilin Provincial Civil Airport Group Company

China Airport Planning & Design Institute Co., Ltd., Beijing Institute of Architectural Design Co., Ltd., MAD

SUN Shouquan, SUN Mingze, SONG Minzhe, WANG Fei, LU Zihao, XIAO Yuhan, CHEN Wei, CAO Xi, Yoshio FUKUMORI

MU Tong, YAO Huilai, FENG Xiangling, SUN Yongxue, YAO Yuan, XU Junjie, ZHANG Bao, ZHANG Yan, SHEN Xin, QI Junjie, HAO Wenjia, LIU Zihao, XU Ke, LI Zhennan, FENG Mengyao, LI Xiong, ZHENG Guangshun, SHEN Yi, LU Xin, LI Henghui

 WANG Xiaoqun, SHU Weinong, WANG Yizhi, LI Shaokun, SU Yao, WU Di, WANG Yisu, WANG Bin, REN Jie, ZHANG Zhongqi, ZHANG Linyi, CHEN Lin, GU Xianliang, MU Yang, FAN Shixing, WANG Hanmo, ZHANG Shizhong, YU Xinqiao, ZHANG Shirui, PAN Ming

Changchun Airport T3

Living Garden is our vision for the home of the future, developed in collaboration with Hanergy for the 2018 China House Vision Exhibition. The project challenges the traditional concept of a home as an enclosed structure by creating a living environment that dissolves the boundary between interior and exterior.

A curved, floating roof forms the central architectural element. Made from a grid of translucent, waterproof glass panels, it allows natural light and air to enter freely while protecting from the elements. Hanergy solar panels are integrated into the roof, and positioned at optimal angles to generate enough energy to power a household of three. This energy system supports the home’s self-sufficiency while reinforcing the connection between daily life and natural cycles.

Living Garden offers an open-air experience, promoting a direct emotional connection between people and their environment. Rather than confining inhabitants within walls, the space invites them to live among light, air, and vegetation. The result is a hybrid of shelter and landscape a living architecture that supports both ecological awareness and well-being.


Xiao Ying, Yang XueBin, Kazushi Miyamoto, Yu Qiang, Chen Luman

Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Limited

CCDI (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.

Hongya Bamboo Era Co., Ltd.

Beijing Haihuihang Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd.

Original Ecology Landscape Co., Ltd.

Beijing Tianzhuo Trading Co., Ltd.

Beijing Xinyecheng Curtain Wall Engineering Co., Ltd.

Beijing Songzhuang Hongda Sculpture Art Co., Ltd.

Living Garden

Dixon joined MAD in 2008, having acted as Head of Operations for their Beijing office from 2008 to 2011. He is now in charge of managing MAD's practice in the United States and the Middle East, as well as managing operations, projects, and overall strategy of Los Angeles Office. Dixon helped to conceptualize and organize the firm’s installation in partnership with Olafur Eliasson, “Feelings are Facts” at UCCA.

Los Angeles Office

The design proposal starts with what is already given. The vibrancy of the natural topography is echoed and further magnified in the crater-shaped forms; therein lies the dialogue of the built and natural worlds, the mutual interplay of space and shape. The surface of the ‘mountains’ is a high-tech, eco-friendly pleated skin system. The smocking-like envelope provides air flow to the building while keeping energy consumption at a minimum by utilizing solar energy.

The core of the building is more an emotion construct: open courtyards in the interior create rhythmic patterns through the space and gesture back to the spatial order exemplified by the Forbidden City and ancient Chinese gardens. This project seeks meaning in its immaterial qualities, in spaces imbued with a sublime natural essence. For all its size, a single tree, a patch of bamboo, or a pond can become the central figures of the space, as they contribute to a meaningful experience for the user. It is sustainability in the sense of sustenance, in the nourishing potential of architecture to connect people to nature and to each other.


Taichung, China

Jordan Kanter, Jtravis Russett, Irmi Reiter, Diego Perez, Dai Pu, Rasmus Palmquist, Art Terry, Chie Fuyuki

Taichung Convention Center

Embedded within Harbin’s wetlands, the Harbin Opera House was designed in response to the force and spirit of the northern city’s untamed wilderness and frigid climate. Appearing as if sculpted by wind and water, the building seamlessly blends in with nature and the topography - a transfusion of local identity, art, and culture.

The architectural procession choreographs a conceptual narrative, one that transforms visitors into performers. Upon entering the grand lobby, visitors will see large transparent glass walls spanning the grand lobby, visually connecting the curvilinear interior with the swooping façade and exterior plaza. Soaring above, a crystalline glass curtain wall soars over the grand lobby space with the support of a lightweight diagrid structure. Comprised of glass pyramids, the surface alternates between smooth and faceted, referencing the billowing snow and ice of the frigid climate. Visitors are greeted with the simple opulence of natural light and material sensation—all before taking their seat.

Presenting a warm and inviting element, the grand theater is clad in rich wood, emulating a wooden block that has been gently eroded away. Sculpted from Manchurian Ash, the wooden walls gently wrap around the main stage and theater seating.

Harbin Opera House emphasizes public interaction and participation with the building. Both ticketholders and the general public alike can explore the façade’s carved paths and ascend the building as if traversing local topography. At the apex, visitors discover an open, exterior performance space that serves as an observation platform for visitors to survey the panoramic views of Harbin’s metropolitan skyline and the surrounding wetlands below.

Jordan Kanter, Daniel Gillen, Bas van Wylick, Liu Huiying, Fu Changrui, Zhao Wei, Kin Li ,Zheng Fang, Julian Sattler, Jackob Beer, J Travis Russett, Sohith Perera, Colby Thomas Suter, Yu Kui, Philippe Brysse, Huang Wei, Flora Lee, Wang Wei, Xie Yibang, Lyo Hengliu, Alexander Cornelius, Alex Gornelius, Mao Beihong, Gianantonio Bongiorno, Jei Kim, Chen Yuanyu, Yu Haochen, Qin Lichao, Pil-Sun Ham, Mingyu Seol, Lin Guomin, Zhang Haixia, Li Guangchong, Wilson Wu, Ma Ning, Davide Signorato, Nick Tran, Xiang Ling, Gustavo Alfred Van Staveren, Yang Jie

Harbin Songbei Investment and Development Group Co., Ltd.

Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD) Institute No.3

Inhabit Group, China Jingye Engineering Co., Ltd.

Gehry Technologies Co., Ltd.

Beijing Turenscape Institute

MAD, Shenzhen Keyuan Construction Group Co., Ltd.

Harbin Opera House

Dixon joined MAD in 2008, having acted as Head of Operations for their Beijing office from 2008 to 2011. He is now in charge of managing MAD's practice in the United States and the Middle East, as well as managing operations, projects, and overall strategy of Los Angeles Office. Dixon helped to conceptualize and organize the firm’s installation in partnership with Olafur Eliasson, “Feelings are Facts” at UCCA. 

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