Chaoyang Park Plaza is about how to carry the traditional culture into a new format in modern architecture. Instead of building a boundary between the city and the park, I tried to design this building to emerge from the natural landscape.

The quote by Ma Yansong, “Chaoyang Park Plaza is about how to carry the traditional culture into a new format in modern architecture. Instead of building a boundary between the city and the park, I tried to design this building to emerge from the natural landscape,” reflects his visionary approach to blending heritage, nature, and contemporary design. Ma, a renowned Chinese architect and founder of MAD Architects, emphasizes the importance of incorporating cultural continuity into innovative architectural expression.

By referencing traditional culture, Ma alludes to ancient Chinese values, aesthetics, and philosophies—particularly those drawn from nature, such as the reverence for mountains, water, and organic forms seen in classical Chinese painting and landscape design. Rather than imposing a rigid, artificial structure on the environment, he envisions architecture that flows naturally from its surroundings, harmonizing with the park rather than opposing it.

In speaking about avoiding a boundary between the city and park, Ma challenges conventional urban development, which often separates nature and infrastructure. His design for Chaoyang Park Plaza, located in Beijing’s central business district, seeks to dissolve that division by allowing the buildings to echo natural forms like rock formations and mountains, making the structures appear as though they rise organically from the ground. This concept aligns with his broader philosophy of creating “Shanshui City”—a modern urban vision inspired by the Chinese Shanshui (mountain-water) tradition.

The origin of this quote lies in Ma Yansong’s efforts to reshape the dialogue around urban architecture in rapidly developing cities. With Chaoyang Park Plaza, completed in 2017, he sought not only to innovate visually but also to embed cultural identity and natural integration into the heart of urban design. His statement serves as a manifesto for future architecture—one that honors the past, embraces the present, and respects the natural world.