Architecture is about experience: not only visual but also what you can touch, what you can feel.

Ma Yansong’s quote, “Architecture is about experience: not only visual but also what you can touch, what you can feel,” emphasizes a multi-sensory approach to design. Rather than viewing architecture as a purely aesthetic or visual discipline, Ma advocates for buildings and spaces that engage the whole body and mind. He suggests that meaningful architecture must create environments that people can not only see, but also interact with physically and connect to emotionally.

The origin of this perspective comes from Ma Yansong’s role as the founder of MAD Architects, a Beijing-based firm known for its organic forms, fluid geometries, and emphasis on emotional resonance. His designs, such as the Absolute Towers in Canada and the Harbin Opera House in China, seek to break away from cold, mechanistic structures and instead embrace a more human-centered vision. This quote reflects his belief that architecture should evoke emotion, stimulate the senses, and form a relationship with both nature and the human spirit.

By highlighting touch and feeling, Ma acknowledges that architecture influences our physical comfort, movement, and mood. Surfaces, materials, scale, and light all contribute to how we experience a space. For him, successful architecture is not just something to look at, but something to inhabit—to walk through, lean against, listen to, and feel beneath your fingertips. This creates a more immersive and intimate connection between people and their surroundings.

Ultimately, Ma Yansong’s quote is a call to go beyond superficial design and embrace architecture as a living experience. It underscores the importance of sensory awareness and empathy in shaping spaces that truly respond to human needs. In his view, architecture reaches its fullest potential when it becomes experiential art, rooted not just in visual spectacle but in tactile, emotional, and spatial engagement.