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 Big cities Copy Share Image
If we're talking about the urban landscape as an advanced, forward-thinking art form, there must be some intellectual thinking involved. — Ma Yansong Art Copy Share Image
If you look at ancient Chinese paintings, you see mountains, but they are not real mountains; it is something the artists imagined. — Ma Yansong Art Copy Share Image
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 Architecture Copy Share Image
I don't like to talk about sustainability, because sometimes I see green buildings that don't appear any different from those in the… — Ma Yansong Buildings 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 Architecture 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 City Copy Share Image
There must be a way to combine the high rise and high-density environment with nature. Maybe we can have our gardens in… — Ma Yansong Environment 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 Architecture Copy Share Image
Since the Industrial Revolution, we tend to use technology to show our power: you know, we build high-rises, towers, big buildings that… — Ma Yansong Capitalism Copy Share Image
In our traditional culture, people have a very different view towards nature than in Western culture. We consider humans as part of… — Ma Yansong Culture Copy Share Image
A lot of ancient poetry sees in nature a reflection of human emotions, and in a post-industrialized era, once people have become… — Ma Yansong Human emotions Copy Share Image
When I started university, I didn't know much about architecture, so I flipped through a lot of magazines, looking at different and… — Ma Yansong Architecture 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 City Copy Share Image
When you look at classical structures, they're often linked to literature, music, or a poem. They were constructed by master builders, which… — Ma Yansong Architecture Copy Share Image
I think where traditional values are concerned, Chinese people see nature as very symbolic. It's a form of culture. — Ma Yansong Chinese people Copy Share Image
Oscar Niemeyer really inspired me. He's from South America, where nature has meaning. And his architecture was not expensive or high tech… — Ma Yansong America Copy Share Image
In China, we had some buildings that looked like the White House or wine bottles. All they seemed to represent was bad… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
Instead of making grand structures and beautiful buildings, we should focus on the environment and the urban space and how you encourage… — Ma Yansong Beautiful 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
I have never been to Mars. What will we discover when we get there? A red landscape, quiet horizon, frozen glaciers? Probably… — Ma Yansong Beautiful Copy Share Image
What if we treat the high-rise like a mountain, or we have gardens in the sky, or waterfalls? I think that's the… — Ma Yansong Architecture Copy Share Image
Traditionally, in the Eastern World, man and nature are close: men find happiness and prosperity in the beauty of nature, even if… — Ma Yansong Beauty Copy Share Image
The beauty of architecture is it involves work that stretches over a very long time but often starts in one instant, with… — Ma Yansong Architecture Copy Share Image
People think that buildings are permanent, but in China, this isn't true; we can always demolish and remake it better. — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
A door handle is very symbolic to me. It is the first object that one will interact with before entering a new… — 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 Architecture Copy Share Image
China is a place where you can experience two very contrasting things coexisting. First, the rich, cultural history of the country -… — Ma Yansong China Copy Share Image
People love to go closer to nature and other people, so we need to create environments that let people have these emotional… — Ma Yansong Connections Copy Share Image
When I graduated from high school, I thought I wanted to make science fiction movies, so I applied to film school, but… — Ma Yansong Architecture Copy Share Image
When I was young and used to look at Chinese architecture, there was no clear definition between what was landscaping and what… — Ma Yansong Architecture Copy Share Image
The way we do our architecture is to show that we can come up with our own solutions. We don't just take… — Ma Yansong Architecture Copy Share Image
In traditional cities like Beijing, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, nature was a very important part of urban planning - not only as a… — Ma Yansong Copy Share Image
