In 2017, five international students from Italy, Iran, Greece, Costa Rica, Scotland, and five students from China received MAD travel funding, and their entire journey spanned 44 cities in 10 countries. The students also received MAD's assistance in meeting with famous architects such as Herman Hertzberg and Yuan Feng.

Yi Zhe, Yale University, USA

Research topic: The "novelty" of architecture

Destination: Japan

Self-introduction: Perhaps because of the limited land, Japan's control of space and distance, whether between buildings or between people and buildings, is always just right. Every inch of land and space is carefully planned, and the boundaries and distances are always reasonable and comfortable. In Tokyo, the symbiotic relationship between infrastructure and architecture seems to be primitive and casual, but it can be seen that everything is just right.

Li Qiwei, Beijing University of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Research topic: Socialist architecture under totalitarian rule

Destination: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia

Self-introduction: Soviet architecture expresses an ideological dream, an ideology that was fascinating in the relatively short but turbulent history of the Soviet Union. People avoided the decline of Tsarist society, and also rejected the neoclassical architecture that the Tsar loved very much. Under the totalitarian rule of communism, many artistic experiments emerged and became an open frontier, especially the construction of many science fiction public buildings. These buildings make me yearn for them.

Wei Tangchenxi, Southeast University

Research topic: Heroes, construction and magical realism

Destination: Netherlands

Self-introduction: In the last century, the Dutch were always enthusiastic about acting as architectural heroes to "make revolution": Dutch avant-garde, Mondrian, Amsterdam School, Rotterdam School... and now Koolhaas, MVRDV... They excitedly rushed to the stage, criticized their predecessors with righteous words, threw out many experimental products... and successfully promoted the evolution of world architecture. In contrast, China is short of heroic spirit. Therefore, to experience the "immortality" that repelled the "immortality" and to capture the advantages of the gentleman's "heroic thought" is my original intention.

Wen Zishen, Tsinghua University

Research topic: Japanese architecture, a way to connect tradition and modernity

Destination: Japan

Self-introduction: As a cultural and artistic highland outside of Western-centrism, Japan can always embrace Western narratives and interpret the elegance from the East. Therefore, the traditional and modern buildings visited alternately always present a contrasting interest. Among them, the most impressive ones are the similar meaning of wandering in nature in Toji-in Temple and Shiba Ryotaro Memorial Museum, the pursuit of horizontality in Sanjusangendo Hall and Kyoto National Museum of Art, and the humility of the surrounding environment shown by the Hokusai Memorial Museum and Byodo-in Temple.

Wu You, Princeton University

Research topic: Visual presentation and interpretation of architecture

Destination: Portugal, Spain

Self-introduction: Spanish architecture is a combination of Gothic and Arabic styles, carrying rich production, material and symbolic meanings, and also reflecting cultural influences. Visiting buildings such as the mosque in Cordoba made me see the existence of "conflict" in Spanish architecture, and also made me realize that while architecture is dissolving, it is also establishing a kind of order.

Federico Fauli (Italy), Architectural Association, UK

Research topic: The dichotomy of China's two rivers

Destination: Beijing, Chengdu, Fenghuang, Guangzhou, etc.

Self-introduction: During a one-month trip to China, the culture and identity of this rapidly developing country triggered my thinking. My interest in local aesthetics, collage architecture and architectural monumentality made me pay special attention to Chinese architecture that attempts to define multiple cultural and national attributes, which are often driven by memory and identity attributes.

Hossein Goudarzi (Iran), University of New Mexico, USA

Research topic: Analysis and comparison of vernacular architecture in Iran and China

Destination: Beijing, Shanghai

Self-introduction: By observing traditional Chinese vernacular architecture and their different materials, scales and forms, I explore how to apply the core values ​​of vernacular architecture to the construction of modern architecture.

Kyrioki Goti (Greece), University of Stuttgart, Germany

Research topic: The relationship between nature and technology in architecture

Destination: Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou

Self-introduction: The architecture, landscape and lifestyle of each city I have visited are very different, but I found similarities between them: the importance of nature in Chinese life. The harmonious coexistence of nature and technology made me think that by combining innovative first-class technology with traditional materials and construction methods, architects can create new landscapes that are not comparable to natural landscapes, but complement each other.

Roberto Vargas Calvo (Costa Rica), University of San Jose

Research topic: Analysis of urban sound and sensory atmosphere in China

Destination: Beijing, Shanghai

Self-introduction: How we design is as important as what we design. Everything we see, smell, hear, touch and taste every day should be the starting point of creation. Through this trip, I realized that sensory experience can be a turning point for design and critical thinking.

Shaun McCallum (Scotland), University of Applied Arts Vienna

Research topic: Consumption of buildings

Destination: Beijing, Guangzhou, Xi'an, etc.

Self-introduction: From the CCTV building in Beijing to the Great Wall, Chinese architecture seems to be symbolic - the two are relics of the ancient and more recent "past". Each building has become a carrier of curiosity and wonder of that era.

* Special thanks to China Express Airlines for sponsoring the 2017 MAD Travel Fund.