Shanshui City is the main ideology of MAD, which is derived from traditional Chinese culture and affection for nature. MAD has made a series of designs to reflect this theory, which bring nature back to urban area and take use of ecological technology to develop the sustainable and natural living condition for future life. An exhibition of Shanshui City was hold in 2013, and a project named Shanshui City was designed for Guiyang, China.

 

— Xuyun Liu

 

RESEARCH RESOURCES

 

“Ma Yansong’s ‘Shanshui City’ Book Launch and Exhibition Held in Beijing.” 2013. MAD architects news. June 6.

http://www.i-mad.com/ennews_details.aspx?id=114.

This is a news about the Ma Yansong’s “Shanshui City” Book Launch and Exhibition, which introduces the ideology of Shanshui City to the public.

 

“Ma Yansong / MAD architects: shan shui city at designboom conversation.” 2012. Designboom. December 11.

http://www.designboom.com/architecture/mad-architects-shan-shui-city-guiyang-china/.

The project Shanshui city in Guiyang well expresses MAD’s ideology of Shanshui city. This designboom article introduces the information and theory of the project, combined with other MAD’s designs.

 

Heathcote, Edwin. “Conquering the West.” Financial Times, Mar 19, 2011. http://search.proquest.com/docview/857731485?accountid=14214.

This article is mostly based on Ma Yansong’s speech, which suggests his idea of shanshui city.  He wants to bring nature back to life combining Chinese traditional culture to design the special oriental architecture model for future.

 

 

 

MAD made the ecological skyscraper design Urban Forest in Chongqing, China. The project breaks down the old typology of skyscraper and twists the building with a dynamic rhythm. It brings nature back into the urban life via the floating gardens and forests. The non-linear design imitates the form the mountain and is inspired by the traditional Chinese mountain and water paintings. It tries to re-express the affection for nature in modern urban area through the ecological techniques and set a future model for urban landmark, which could be a living organism other than a complex of steel and concrete.

 

— Xuyun Liu

 

RESEARCH RESOURCES

 

“Urban Forest.” MAD architects.

http://www.i-mad.com/ennews_details.aspx?id=122#works_details?wtid=4&id=50.

This is a brief description of the project form MAD architects website. It reveals the background and the main theory for the design. It shows the main idea of the scheme is to express the affection for nature.

 

“Urban Forest by MAD.” 2009.  De Zeen Magazine. December 10. http://www.dezeen.com/2009/12/10/urban-forest-by-mad/.

The short introduction to the project from the web magazine includes a lot of images, orthographic drawings and diagrams, which help to show more information about the building, especially the structure system to support the floating vertical forests.

 

Wolf, Kathleen L. “THE URBAN FOREST.” Communities & Banking 24, no. 2 (Spring, 2013): 25-27. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1315339732?accountid=14214.

This is a short article about the benefits and importance of “urban forest” in general meaning. Though the word “urban forest” is different from the project, the article could help to show the meaning of forests in urban areas, which may serve as a theoretical foundation for the design.