MADA s.p.a.m.

Founded by Mr. QingYun Ma in 1996 in New York and, launched in Shanghai in 1999, MADA s.p.a.m. has been developed into the most energetic and creative design firm in China. Based on its trans-cultural mission and cross-pacific practice, MADA has become one of the most visible firms both in China and around the world through its critical thinking and participative practice. MADA s.p.a.m.'s work has been widely published and exhibited, including the first cultural facility exhibited in the Venice Biennale, the Pompidou Center in Paris, and the first solo show from China in Aedes Gallery in Berlin. Currently we have more than 50 designers and architects based in the head office in Shanghai.

It is the firm's belief that Architecture is a collective endeavor and building execution is a team effort. MADA's strong team spirit is apparent in all our projects, and quickly becomes a core for leadership amongst our collaborators, therefore, successes in many of projects. The quality of MADA's architecture reflects the quality of MADA's teams - proactive, responsive and decisive.

Lead by Qingyun Ma, MADA's approach to architecture has been cross-territory and inter-disciplinary. Among which, creative participation in cultural infrastructure and commercial confluence has been the most noticeable one. Ma has been curators in some most important exhibitions involving governments, private sectors, and art circles. An affiliated company, SPAMAPS has invested and facilitated the first contemporary art museum and artist residence program in Xi'an, China. This approach to urbanism and architecture is manifested by the name of the office s.p.a.m. which stands for strategy, planning, architecture, and media.

STRATEGY
MADA approaches a problem through a full-spectrum of investigation of causes and consequences in order to arrive at the most effective and original way to reach a goal. Strategy is a merge of imagination and rationalization. It proceeds all organizational and design efforts.

PLANNING
For MADA, master planning is an indiscriminative selection and orchestration between nature and man-made, existing and emergent, big and small. It is a structure that stipulates parts but not stiffens them. Through these juxtapositions, it simultaneously projects life onto a physical setting from outside as well as invigorate life from within.

ARCHITECTURE
MADA sees architecture as a process of selecting and configuring materials and technology in relationship to finance, technology, and the idea. It is a construct of ideas as well as a product. We also see architecture as a form of knowledge gained through new and creative exploration and constant refinement.
 
MEDIA
Architecture is a form of representation. To extend and continue the attitude and proposition of architecture, media plays an important role. As our living environment becomes increasingly non-physical, architecture must re-form, or even de-form in order to accept media, and to define our environment in a way unseen before.