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" We try to turn buildings into landscapes - defying the idea of modernism which sees nature and buildings as two distinct elements. "
Ma Yansong
Buildings
Two
Turn
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" People can live in nature, and they won't necessarily destroy it. "
Ma Yansong
People
Nature
Live
" Since the Beijing Olympics in 2008, our office has been discussing how we can make architecture more human and at one with nature. We need to ask ourselves, what legacy do we want to leave behind on humankind's urban culture? "
Ma Yansong
Architecture
Culture
Nature
" I think architects have a major role in being responsible for illustrating what the future could be. Because of the very strong political and commercial climate, many architects are trying very hard to solve everyday issues, to respond to the authorities. "
Ma Yansong
Trying
Think
Strong
" In China, we had some buildings that looked like the White House or wine bottles. All they seemed to represent was bad taste. "
Ma Yansong
House
Buildings
Bad
" In traditional cities like Beijing, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, nature was a very important part of urban planning - not only as a landscape but a part of daily life. "
Ma Yansong
Life
Nature
Like
" A door handle is very symbolic to me. It is the first object that one will interact with before entering a new space. "
Ma Yansong
New
Space
Will
" I think where traditional values are concerned, Chinese people see nature as very symbolic. It's a form of culture. "
Ma Yansong
Think
Culture
Values
" When I graduated from high school, I thought I wanted to make science fiction movies, so I applied to film school, but I couldn't get in. A professor told me I should try architecture instead. "
Ma Yansong
Science
Thought
School
" I'm trying to create architecture as landscape. But I'm not copying nature. "
Ma Yansong
Architecture
Nature
Trying
" The shan-shui city idea is trying to bring traditional values and ways of living to modern high-rise architecture. "
Ma Yansong
Architecture
City
Idea
" The world itself is already a great textbook. "
Ma Yansong
Textbook
Great
Itself
" When you look at classical structures, they're often linked to literature, music, or a poem. They were constructed by master builders, which means it's not something standard that you can copy. "
Ma Yansong
Look
Copy
Literature
" Modern buildings have become memorials to power and capital. More and more, they're isolated from people. "
Ma Yansong
Become
People
More
" Sometimes I sketch and then scan my sketch directly to make the curves more freehand. I don't want to make perfect industrial curves. "
Ma Yansong
Curves
Want
Sometimes
" I don't use tools to create things, but I use them to realize things. "
Ma Yansong
Tools
Use
Things
" The city of the future development will be shifted from the pursuit of material civilisation to the pursuit of nature. This is what happens after human beings experience industrial civilisation at the expense of the natural environment. "
Ma Yansong
City
Future
Human
" The way we do our architecture is to show that we can come up with our own solutions. We don't just take orders. "
Ma Yansong
Show
Own
Way
" We proposed Tiananmen Square - this very empty political square in the city centre - should turn green. Maybe in the future, this space could become a very human and open urban space. And if that happens, I think that all the cities around China will follow to change. "
Ma Yansong
City
Turn
Space
" Architecture is a special kind of career that showcases the accumulations of culture, time, and history. "
Ma Yansong
Time
Culture
History
" I grew up in Beijing, and there weren't many modern buildings during my childhood. I was influenced by traditional culture - the courtyards, the hutongs, the old city, and all the art forms - so, very naturally, I brought this to my practice. "
Ma Yansong
Culture
Practice
Art
" China is a place where you can experience two very contrasting things coexisting. First, the rich, cultural history of the country - and, second, rapid urbanization. "
Ma Yansong
Experience
Place
You
" Traditionally, in the Eastern World, man and nature are close: men find happiness and prosperity in the beauty of nature, even if the nature is actually built to match this very need. "
Ma Yansong
Beauty
Nature
Men
" I treat my projects as art. "
Ma Yansong
Projects
Art
Treat
" Architecture is about experience: not only visual but also what you can touch, what you can feel. "
Ma Yansong
Feel
You
Architecture
" If we're talking about the urban landscape as an advanced, forward-thinking art form, there must be some intellectual thinking involved. "
Ma Yansong
Talking
Urban
Art
" Architects like to work in a problematic environment. "
Ma Yansong
Work
Architects
Environment
" I don't like to talk about sustainability, because sometimes I see green buildings that don't appear any different from those in the past. "
Ma Yansong
Green
Buildings
Sustainability
" People think that buildings are permanent, but in China, this isn't true; we can always demolish and remake it better. "
Ma Yansong
Better
True
People
" To allow millions of people to live together on limited land, we have to go to the sky; we have to build a high rise. But we can still build nature and social space into the towers. Each family can have their own courtyard in the sky. "
Ma Yansong
Nature
People
Sky
" What if we treat the high-rise like a mountain, or we have gardens in the sky, or waterfalls? I think that's the most challenging thing I want to try in my architecture. "
Ma Yansong
Try
Architecture
Mountain