MAD Rhapsody

A seductive vision of the future from the most promising firm in China led by Ma Yansong, an important voice in the new generation of architects.
 

Conceived and designed by Ma Yansong, founder of MAD Architects, MAD Rhapsody documents the buildings of this avant-garde architecture firm and traces the development of their ideas through associated practice including art, research, and exhibition projects. With photographs, drawings, and models, the book highlights 23 projects from the past six years, both built and in process. Known for their “organic and dreamlike architecture” that creates a dialogue with nature, earth, and sky, MAD projects reach all over the globe.
 
At age 46, Ma Yansong is one of China’s best-known architects. His curvilinear, free-form, and futuristic designs are often compared to those of his mentor, Zaha Hadid. Ma’s greatest inspiration is nature; his opera house in the northern Chinese city of Harbin resembles a snow-capped mountain, while his master plan for the city of Nanjing calls for sloping buildings covered with vertical louvers that resemble waterfalls. Other projects include the Ordos Museum in the wilderness of Inner Mongolia, the Absolute Towers in Canada, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles.

Beijing-born architect Ma Yansong is founder and principal partner of MAD Architects. He was awarded "Young Global Leaders (YGL)" by World Economic Forum in 2014, and became the first architect from China to receive a RIBA fellowship in 2010. He has been a visiting professor of Civil Engineering and Architecture at Beijing University, as well as an adjunct professor at Tsinghua University.
Paul Goldberger is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and former architecture critic for The New Yorker and the New York Times.