During the preparations for the establishment of MAD's Los Angeles office, Ma Yansong was invited to participate in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Project as a keynote speaker, and later gave a speech on the theme of "Shanshui City" at the Virginia Institute-American Institute of Architects Design Forum.

Ma Yansong introduced MAD's recent projects and the latest practices under the concept of "Shanshui City", and shared his thoughts on the future city, how to better combine the convenience of modern cities with the poetic and picturesque feelings in the hearts of Oriental people, and build a city with human spirit and cultural values ​​as the core. Other guests invited by the American Institute of Architects at the same time include Terence Riley, former curator of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and Kai-Uwe Bergmann, head of BIG Architecture.

Photographer Trevor Larsen