Hublot recently presented its newest brand ambassador Ma Yansong, the Founder and Principal Partner of MAD Architects. In the past 20 years, Yansong has redefined architecture with a focus on emotional and spiritual needs, blending humanity and Nature, resulting in a unique aesthetic appeal.
Inspired by traditional Chinese elements and modern design principles, his architecture is characterized by organic, flowing forms, featuring “neutral skins” that form a continuum between the site and its natural landscape. Yansong’s creations, thus, evoke a sense of harmony with nature, integrating buildings into their surroundings and environment.
“His fusion of storytelling, cultural exploration and architectural innovation aligns seamlessly with our commitment to a future which celebrates designs that are bold and imaginative, continuous and fluid, complex and three-dimensional. His mission to explore and contribute to the ideal future of living, along with his advanced designs conceived with an affinity for Nature, echo the contribution we would like to bring through watchmaking,” says Hublot CEO, Ricardo Guadalupe.
Born in Beijing in 1975, Yansong holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture, and a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Yale University. He has been an adjunct professor at the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Tsinghua University, and the University of Southern California.
Two years after achieving his Masters from Yale, Yansong founded MAD Architects in 2004. As the founding partner of MAD Architects, he leads the design of every project, as well as leading the art and cultural development of MAD, with the vision to create a new balance between society, the city, and the environment through architecture. Parallel to his design practice, he also explores the cultural values of cities and architecture through domestic and international solo exhibitions, publications, and artworks.
Yansong distinguished himself while still at Yale with his project Floating Islands, and is the first Chinese architect to win an overseas landmark project and to design an overseas cultural landmark. In the past 20 years, MAD Architects’ has completed over 20 diverse projects.
These include the Harbin Opera House, Sheraton Huzhou, Huangshan Mountain Village and Quzhou Sports Park in China; UNIC Apartments in Paris; Gardenhouse and Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles; Absolute Towers in Mississauga, Canada; FENIX Museum of Migration in Rotterdam, and the Tunnel of Light in Japan’s Echigo-Tsumari region.
In 2010 Yansong received the RIBA International Fellowship – awarded to people who have made a significant contribution to architecture. In 2014 he was awarded “Young Global Leader (YGL)” by the World Economic Forum.
“My first, unique and different approach to architecture is a methodical exploration of humanity, Nature and creativity. In the way Hublot explores the wealth of natural materials, we share this belief in a symbiosis between the natural and human-made. We believe in design more responsive to human emotion, placing equal emphasis on technology and Nature,” says Ma Yansong.
