A shan-shui city is a modern city, a high-density urban situation, but we pay more attention to the environment. We bring waterfalls;… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
'Shan shui' you can literally translate as 'mountain and water.' In traditional Chinese culture, there are a lot of paintings about shan… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
The difficulty with big cities does not lie in skyscrapers or high-rises per se; rather, it is the values concealed within those… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
The shan-shui city idea is trying to bring traditional values and ways of living to modern high-rise architecture. — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
When we talk about a city, we need to talk about what the future is. Whats the ideal scenario in the future? — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
I grew up in the old neighborhood of Beijing where you had a courtyard and trees. Actually, the whole of Beijing was… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
In China, it's very easy to make architecture special because anything you design will look different, as most parts of the city… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
China has some cities, traditional cities, with a long history. They are so beautiful, and they were planned so smartly. I call… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
I grew up in Beijing, and there weren't many modern buildings during my childhood. I was influenced by traditional culture - the… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
We proposed Tiananmen Square - this very empty political square in the city centre - should turn green. Maybe in the future,… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
Chaoyang Park Plaza is about how to carry the traditional culture into a new format in modern architecture. Instead of building a… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
The city of the future development will be shifted from the pursuit of material civilisation to the pursuit of nature. This is… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
China is a place where you can experience two very contrasting things coexisting. First, the rich, cultural history of the country - and, second,… — Ma Yansong Copy Share
I don't like to talk about sustainability, because sometimes I see green buildings that don't appear any different from those in the past. — Ma Yansong Copy Share
When I graduated from high school, I thought I wanted to make science fiction movies, so I applied to film school, but I couldn't… — Ma Yansong Copy Share
If we're talking about the urban landscape as an advanced, forward-thinking art form, there must be some intellectual thinking involved. — Ma Yansong Copy Share
In traditional cities like Beijing, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, nature was a very important part of urban planning - not only as a landscape but… — Ma Yansong Copy Share
I think where traditional values are concerned, Chinese people see nature as very symbolic. It's a form of culture. — Ma Yansong Copy Share
In China, it's very easy to make architecture special because anything you design will look different, as most parts of the city are very… — Ma Yansong Copy Share
The way we do our architecture is to show that we can come up with our own solutions. We don't just take orders. — Ma Yansong Copy Share
I would say that many architects are very logical. They start their process from analysis and from rational processes to try and find the… — Ma Yansong Copy Share
Although we're architects, we believe we do culture; architecture is culture, and the topics we tackle will always arise a broader debate. — Ma Yansong Copy Share
We proposed Tiananmen Square - this very empty political square in the city centre - should turn green. Maybe in the future, this space… — Ma Yansong Copy Share
To allow millions of people to live together on limited land, we have to go to the sky; we have to build a high… — Ma Yansong Copy Share
A door handle is very symbolic to me. It is the first object that one will interact with before entering a new space. — Ma Yansong Copy Share
