Xu Chen, RIBA Registered Architect, joined MAD in 2015. Xu Chen focuses on the relationship between cities, sites and architecture. In design practice, he is good at thinking and realizing ideal architectural solutions from multiple levels, including environment, aesthetics, function and technology, and has rich experience in large-scale projects from design to detail deepening and building construction, as well as the ability to design under strict control. He is also an excellent team manager. Xu Chen has led and participated in projects including Quzhou Sports Park,Tencent Dachanwan, Beijing Baiziwan Social Housing, Xiamen Xinhee Design Center, and Shenzhen Bay Culture Park.

Beijing Office

Xu Chen, RIBA Registered Architect, joined MAD in 2015. Xu Chen focuses on the relationship between cities, sites and architecture. In design practice, he is good at thinking and realizing ideal architectural solutions from multiple levels, including environment, aesthetics, function and technology, and has rich experience in large-scale projects from design to detail deepening and building construction, as well as the ability to design under strict control. He is also an excellent team manager. Xu Chen has led and participated in projects including Quzhou Sports Park, Tencent Dachanwan, Beijing Baiziwan Social Housing, Xiamen Xinhee Design Center, and Shenzhen Bay Culture Park.

FENIX Museum of Migration transforms Rotterdam’s historic Fenix warehouse into a cultural landmark that explores the universal story of human migration. Located on the Katendrecht Peninsula, the 1923 warehouse was once the largest transshipment hub in the world, serving as a departure point for millions of migrants.

The design preserves the building’s industrial character, retaining its original concrete structure and green steel windows while introducing contemporary interventions. A glass curtain wall replaces sections of the facade and roof, creating an open, light-filled interior.

At the heart of the transformation is the Tornado a double-helix staircase that rises from the ground floor and extends onto a rooftop observation deck. This sculptural element breaks down the scale of the warehouse into human-centered spaces while offering panoramic views of Rotterdam and the River Maas. Its flowing form, crafted from stainless steel and wood, symbolizes movement and transition, echoing the journeys taken by generations of migrants.

Inside, the space spans two floors, housing a growing collection of art, photography, and historical artifacts. Commissions from emerging international artists further enrich the museum’s narrative, presenting migration through diverse perspectives.

Opening in 2025, FENIX serves as a bridge between past and future, inviting visitors to engage with the complexities of migration through architecture, history, and contemporary storytelling.


Rotterdam, Netherlands

Culture

Fenix Museum of Migration 

MAD won a competition to lead the rebuilding of 71 Via Boncompagni in the heart of Rome in early 2010. After four years of design development and hearings, the project was approved by the Rome Planning, Programming and Implementation Department and the Rome City Council in 2014. The project will become MAD’s first realized project in Europe.

Built in the 1970s, the existing building is a commercial courtyard building attached to an early 20th-century chapel located on the street corner. The primary challenge posed by the competition stage was how to transform this incongruous modern building into a deluxe residential complex.

In modern buildings, beams, pillars, and floor slabs have replaced walls as the core elements of architectural structure. While freed from their structural obligations, facades remain canvases for expression and style. Instead of demolishing and reconstructing the entire building, MAD will simply remove the existing facades, retain the structural framework, and insert new living units to transform the building’s function. New balconies and gardens will emerge from the “gaps and voids” between new residential units and the original framework structure. The boundary between the building and the street blurs as the new design peels away bulky facades and replaces them with a more open, transparent scheme.

After realigning the existing structural system, the building will contain a “bookshelf” structure. 145 residential units of various sizes and layouts, ranging from studios to urban villas with facades made of custom metal and glass, will be intricately inserted into this 8-level concrete “bookshelf” system. The full-height curved glass windows shift and protrude in a controlled choreography between the floor slabs. The “voids” between the glass and the framework will be transformed into gardens and balconies, bringing natural elements and sunlight into the living areas.

Residents can see the interior courtyard through a hazy façade made of translucent metallic curtains. The existing modern garden will be transformed into an abstract one with a vast pond at the center that reflects the bordering trees and the sky above. Natural sunlight filters through voids in the pond and the surrounding garden, streaming through to the ramp of the underground garage below.

Contemporary living in a museum-like city like Rome is often hidden behind its historical facades. Through this adaptive rebuild project, this “open” building will be able to return vitality and urban living to the traditional neighborhood.

Rome, Italy

Mixed Use

Zhao Wei, Achille Tortini, Gustavo van Staveren, Giannantonio Bongiorno, Jei Kim, Elin Thorisdottir

Ing. Sergio Schisani

Studio Busnengo 

71 Via Boncompagni

FENDI partnered with MAD for its Men’s Fall/Winter 2024–25 collection, continuing the House’s commitment to cross-disciplinary design. Initiated by Silvia Venturini Fendi, the collaboration brings architectural vision into fashion through a special edition of the Peekaboo ISeeU bag and a new FENDI MAD sneaker, both unveiled at the runway show on January 13, 2024, in Milan.

Under the creative direction of Venturini Fendi and Ma Yansong, the Peekaboo ISeeU bag is reimagined with sculptural aluminum components that reflect MAD’s curvilinear design language. The bag’s leather body is interrupted by wave-like aluminum forms, creating a ripple effect that introduces movement to the rigid structure. It is offered in two exclusive versions: black-on-black with blue metal insertions, and dove grey with gloss yellow accents.

The FENDI MAD sneaker echoes this architectural approach. Featuring an injection-molded sole and upper, the design includes two-tone bubble textures, metallic gradients, and a low, aerodynamic profile. Hidden stretch laces and a transparent bubble detail housing the FENDI logo emphasize the shoe’s seamless construction. The sneaker is available in three colorways that match the bags.

The collaboration blends fashion and architecture, translating MAD’s fluid forms into wearable objects that explore the intersection of material, structure, and movement.

Milan, Italy

Product

MAD x Fendi

Perched in the snow-covered mountains of Northeastern China, the Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Center is our vision of a dynamic space for innovation and exchange. Designed for the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum (CEF), one of China’s most influential business organizations, this center is a permanent home for their annual summits.

Inspired by the natural landscape, we envisioned a structure that feels like a tent at the foot of a mountain, blending seamlessly with its surroundings. Its soft, silver-white rooftop mirrors the snow-capped peaks. At the same time, a central skylight floods the interiors with natural light during the day and glows warmly at night, evoking a campfire where entrepreneurs gather to share ideas. Inside, wood-paneled walls and panoramic views create a warm, immersive experience.

Beyond hosting large-scale conferences, the center is designed as a versatile hub featuring an exhibition hall, meeting rooms, and a television hall to foster business dialogue, corporate training, and public engagement. More than just a building, the Yabuli Entrepreneurs’ Congress Center embodies the boldness and vision of China’s top entrepreneurs, marking a new chapter for global business exchange.

Yabuli, China

Site Area

Building Area 

Building Height

Li Guangchong, Sun Shouquan, Deng Wei, Song Chi, Zhang Xiaomei, Huai Wei, Zhao Meng, Wang Shuobin, Zhang Yanru, Yuki Ishigami, Xiao Ying, Tian Jin

China Entrepreneur Forum

China Architecture Design & Research Group

RFR Shanghai, Kighton Façade Consultant

BJF International Design

Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration & Landscape Design Research Institute Co., Ltd.

Brandston Partnership Inc.

Dongdao Creative Branding Group

Beijing Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning & Design Institute

AECOM Beijing

Yabuli Entrepreneurs Congress Center

Fish Tank in the City is a conceptual exploration of urban space reimagined from the perspective of fish, inverting the traditional human-centric view. The project challenges rigid, box-like architecture seen as relics of the machine age and instead proposes a fluid, layered spatial system where the boundaries between inner and outer dissolve.

Here, fish are not passive elements but central figures. Water becomes dominant, and the built environment adapts to their movement, needs, and freedom. Surfaces melt, boxes collapse, and space becomes increasingly saturated and complex, reflecting a more organic and inclusive form of urbanism.

Fish Tank in the City imagines a future where spatial systems are defined not by control but by adaptability, openness, and coexistence.

Beijing, China

Fish Tank

‘MAD IN CHINA’, the solo design exhibition of MAD, opened in the Danish Architecture Centre (DAC), Copenhagen on November 2, 2007. This is the second exhibition of MAD in Europe following their 2006 Venice show. The exhibition is on view through January 2008.

Over the last 20 years, China has become known as the factory of the world. “Made in China” is globally recognised as symbolising cheap products and low quality. However, in the post-globalization era, the whole world has set its eyes on China, a country that is advancing rapidly in economy, culture, and art as well as in other realms. A new generation of architects and designers is in the middle of creating a multi-layered social identity, transforming the economic strength and individual dreams into a new kaleidoscope of size, height, space, and shape.

Kent Martinussen, the director of DAC, remarked that MAD IN CHINA is not merely an exhibition of an emerging new firm. Rather, the firm’s controversial social dimension brings a new perspective on China to the West. China begins to make its own rules, no longer subject to the taste of foreign countries.
The show features arresting design proposals from the socially conscious architecture firm. In MAD’s most visionary, politically daring design, “Beijing 2050,” the studio has quite literally gone mad with futuristic visions for a densely populated city in the year 2050, including a blueprint for transforming Tiananmen Square into a sprawling, forested parkland.

The show also includes other major works of MAD: The 800-metre Guangzhou Twin Towers take a humorous and critical look at the tradition of skyscraper as architectural icon while referencing Chinese pop culture; ‘Fish Tank’ is a reflection on mass-produced housing in an industrialized society. Visionary projects currently headed towards construction, such as Toronto’s highly-publicized Absolute Tower, and Tianjin, China’s culturally significant Sinosteel International Plaza, are examples of the office’s forward-thinking spaces that are quickly becoming reality. One item in the exhibition, the Denmark Pavilion, confronts the associations with ‘Made in China’, and features materials produced and refined in China, but later shipped to Europe for assembly. With each project, an idiosyncratic voice rises with the boldness and creativity to confidently step forward among the global architecture scene.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Exhibition

MAD in China - DAC

The Ark is a renovation of the former Wanmicang warehouse at the Zhangjiang Cement Factory in Shanghai. The design preserves the industrial legacy of the site while transforming it into a public, multifunctional waterfront hub for culture, creativity, and commerce.

Built-in 1971, the factory played a key role in Shanghai’s urban development for decades. MAD’s approach retains the original concrete structure and inserts a lightweight, ark-like metal volume above, creating a dialogue between the past and the future. The rough textures of the old warehouse contrast with the smooth, reflective metal form above, reactivating the building as a contemporary public “living room.”

A full-height glass curtain wall separates the old and new elements, allowing natural light to flood the space. Interior tiered gardens and open commercial programs animate the preserved industrial shell. A central corridor connects the urban plaza to the riverfront, and a new bridge extends public access across the river.

The rooftop doubles as an open terrace overlooking the Chuanyang River. Structural reinforcements and modern interventions ensure both visual lightness and historical integrity.


Shanghai, China

Adaptive Reuse

The Ark

The Jiaxing Civic Center is designed as a seamless integration of architecture and nature, creating a public space that encourages connection and engagement. Located near South Lake and Central Park, the project brings together three main venues: the Science and Technology Museum, the Women and Children Activity Center, and the Youth Activity Center. These buildings are linked under a continuous roof that forms a unified structure, reflecting the fluidity of Jiaxing’s historic canal towns.

At the center of the project, a large circular lawn provides space for gatherings, events, and daily activities. The ground floor opens in all directions, connecting to surrounding parklands and creating a natural flow between indoor and outdoor spaces. Landscaped terraces and elevated pathways extend the experience beyond the buildings, offering areas for movement and rest.

The design incorporates locally produced white ceramic panels, referencing traditional barrel tile roofs while improving energy efficiency. Floor-to-ceiling glass enhances transparency, allowing light to shape the interaction between built and natural elements. A cascading terrace facing the central lawn creates layered spaces that balance openness with shelter.


Jiaxing, China

Civic

Yin Jianfeng, Alessandro Fisalli, Fu Xiaoyi, Chen-Hsiang Chao, He Yiming, Thoufeeq Ahmed, Chen Hao, He Xiaowen, Zhang Yaohui, Guo Xuan, Edgar Navarrete, Claudia Hertrich, Deng Wei, Zhang Xiaomei, Chen Nianhai, Li Cunhao, Sun Feifei, Punnin Sukkasem, Manchi Yeung, Li Yingzhou

Jiaxing Highway Investment Co., Ltd.

East China Architectural Design & Research Institute, Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Co., Ltd.

RFR Shanghai

Earthasia Design Group, Yong-High Landscape Design Consulting Co.Ltd

Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration & Landscape Design Research Institute CO., Ltd

Nippon Design Center, Inc.

Beijing Sign Lighting Industry Group

Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute (Group) Co., Ltd.

Jiaxing Civic Center

Situated on the site of a traditional siheyuan courtyard dating back to 1725, Courtyard Kindergarten inserts a new building onto the historic site, forming a multi-layered urban narrative where old and new co-exist.

There is a saying in old Beijing: ‘three days without beating, and the child will scale the roof and rip off the tiles!’ Somehow, it describes the freedom of climbing up high and running on the roof hat children picture. MAD imagines the rooftop as a dynamic floating structure – a colourful playground, a magical place and an escape for children. Below the roof, the kindergarten’s open-concept layout serves multiple functions, offering a free and inclusive environment, with no boundaries or obstacles.

In its entirety, Courtyard Kindergarten merges seemingly conflicting architectural elements with the new design. It retains the authenticity of the original buildings, while creating new interaction between the old and the new. It offers children an understanding of history and space, preserving their inborn passion for freedom and pure imagination.


Education

YueCheng Courtyard Kindergarten

Old Beijing is composed of Hutongs, closely woven districts of communal courtyard homes. The basic elements of these districts are one-storey buildings, forming unique geometric patterns that are repeated at dense scales. This traditional urban fabric is increasingly under threat, however, forced to make way for the larger, monumental modern architecture of Beijing today.

The site of this project presents this issue in microcosm. Located near heart of old Beijing, close to historic monuments such as the Forbidden City and opposite the National Art Museum, the site presents a dual condition: small scale Hutongs remain at the Western edge, yet the Eastern edge is bounded by a modern axis of major roads, shopping malls and hotels.

In response to this dilemma, MAD proposes to create a building composed of many small Hutong-scale pieces that culminate in a large overall volume. This will be achieved by stacking different courtyard layers on top of one another, creating an ethereal, semi-solid piece of urban fabric, a vague geometric shape, which maintains the spatial relationships and hollow core of the courtyards.

This proposal extends the city fabric from small to large, stepping up between two scales, and providing a means to reconcile two sides of Beijing. The building is an urban instrument, representing Beijing’s new aspirations to be a forward looking city that also respects its past.



Felipe Escudero, Sophia Tang, Alan Kwan, Helen Yanyang Li, Liu Wei Wei, Harijs Alsin, Tang Liu, Stefan Ritter

Huangdu Art Center