Freezing the instant of artistic creation. Momentun by MAD Architects

This year's Milan Design Week festival (from April 17 to 23) held at the Rho Fiera pavilions, and the Fuorisalone, (a set of events distributed throughout various areas of the city), includes again a new installation from Ma Yansong and Andrea D’Antrassi of MAD Architects as part of events in the courtyard of the Università degli Studi di Milano.

“At a time when everything is immediate, and everything can be replicated digitally, MOMENTUM is, on the one hand, the spark, the original idea; on the other, it is the study, complexity and care behind creative development,” said MAD.

The installation opened on April 17th and will remain open through the 23rd from 10 am to midnight each day, and again from the 24th–26th until 10 pm.

Momentun by MAD Architects. Photograph by Moreno Maggi.

Titled MOMENTUM by MAD Architects, the 8-by-12.5-meter iron cube structure is tilted 45 degrees from its base. During the day, its ETFE polymer surface will reflect its surroundings while at night, the installation becomes more transparent as it yields to the artificial light source.

The installation hinges on two Rio 1.3 and Roo 1.4 fixtures, provided by Luce&Light, that give the surface of the interiors its “extra-ordinary” value. Added to this is a set of nine Trevi 1.2 fixtures installed underneath the structure’s triangular base and programmed to pulse at regular intervals in order to evoke the pulsating rhythm of a heart.

A QR code enables visitors to access a pair of Instagram filters for day and night that enhance the experience of the installation, which will be reproduced in a small-scale version at the Via Monte Rosa 91 space managed by AXA IM Alts.

Momentun by MAD Architects. Photograph by Andrea D’Antrassi.

Description of project by MAD Architects

MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong presented the installation "Momentum" in the main atelier of Milan Design Week 2023, in collaboration with Interni, Axa Immobiliare Alts.

Momentum seeks to freeze the moment of art creation, with the simplest cube being used as a carrier to undertake different forms of art expression. Momentum, exhibited during the Salone del Mobile, hopes to evoke the solidification and refinement of time with this form.

In the daytime, Momentum’s skin reflects the surrounding environment of the courtyard of Statale University, becoming a forever-changing art form of its own. As night falls, and the installation turns transparent and ethereal, the lighting inside illuminates a new character.

Momentum is also a combination of virtual art and a physical installation. It features an AR (Augmented Reality) art experience, where viewers may experience fantastical virtual art by scanning a QR code on Instagram and becoming a creator of their own.

During this, MAD's fourth-time participation in Milan Design Week with the main installation, the works brought have been accompanied by a breakthrough of boundaries and the integration of diverse arts. With the end of the COVID pandemic, we’ve placed more consideration on communication and the interchange of multiculturalism. Past work includes Invisible Border 2016, Fifth Ring 2018, and Freedom 2021.

Momentun by MAD Architects. Photograph by Matteo Vercelloni.

Momentun AR by MAD Architects. Photograph by Interni magazine's Instagram account.

Momentun by MAD Architects. Photograph by Andrea D’Antrassi.

"Invisible Border", 2016. Photograph by Moreno Maggi.

"Fifth Ring", 2018. Photograph courtesy of MAD Architects.

"Freedom", 2018. Photograph courtesy of MAD Architects.

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More information

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Designers

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MAD Architects.

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Design Team

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Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano, Andrea D’Antrassi.

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Collaborators

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Interni.
Axa Immobiliare Alts.
Engineering.- Maco Technology srl, Roberto Maffei.
Light Design.- Luce & Light.
Motion Designer.- Studio AIRA.
Fog Effect.- Nephos.

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Area

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Dimensions.- 8 m * 8 m * 12.5 m.

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Dates

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17 to 23 April, 2023.

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Location

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Università degli Studi di Milano (courtyard). Via Festa del Perdono 7 - Milan, Italy.

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Photography

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Moreno Maggi, Andrea D’Antrassi, Matteo Vercelloni.

Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano. MAD

mad is a Beijing-based architecture design office dedicated to creating innovative projects. Founded by Ma Yansong in 2004, MAD Architects is led by Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, and Yosuke Hayano. It is committed to developing futuristic, organic, technologically advanced designs that embody a contemporary interpretation of the Eastern affinity for nature. With a vision for the city of the future based on the spiritual and emotional needs of residents, MAD endeavours to create a balance between humanity, the city, and the environment.

MAD's projects encompass urban planning, urban complexes, municipal buildings, museums, theatres, concert halls, and housing, as well as art and design. Their projects are located in China, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States. In 2006, MAD won the design competition for the Absolute Towers in Mississauga, Canada. Through this, MAD became the first Chinese architecture firm to build a significant high-rise project abroad. In 2014, MAD was selected as the principal designer for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, USA, becoming the first China-based architecture firm to design an overseas cultural landmark. MAD’s signature cultural projects include Ordos Museum (2011, China), Harbin Opera House (2015, China), Tunnel of Light (2018, Japan), China Philharmonic Concert Hall (under construction), Yiwu Grand Theater (under construction), FENIX Museum of Migration in Rotterdam (under construction), Cloudscape of Haikou (2021, China), and Shenzhen Bay Culture Square (under construction). Other urban projects include the Clover House kindergarten (2015, Japan), Chaoyang Park Plaza (2017, China), China Entrepreneur Forum Conference Centre (2021, China), Jiaxing Train Station (under construction), Quzhou Sports Campus (under construction), and Nanjing Zendai Himalayas Center (under construction), among others.

While practising architecture, MAD documents and discusses its reflections on architecture, culture, and arts through publications, architectural exhibitions, as well as academic lectures and presentations. MAD’s publications include Mad Dinner, Bright City, MA YANSONG: From (Global) Modernity to (Local) Tradition, Shanshui City, and MAD X. MAD has organized and participated in several contemporary art and design exhibitions, including MAD X, a solo exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in 2019; Shanshui City, at UCCA in 2014; Feelings are Facts, a spatial experience exhibition with artist Ólafur Eliasson at UCCA in 2010; and MAD in China, a solo exhibition at the Danish Architectural Center, Copenhagen in 2007. MAD has participated in significant exhibitions at several iterations of the Venice Architecture Biennale and Milan Design Week. MAD has also participated in exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Copenhagen), and MAXXI (Rome). An array of MAD’s architecture models have been acquired by the Centre Pompidou and M+ Museum (Hong Kong) as part of their permanent collections.

MAD has offices in Beijing (China), Jiaxing (China), Los Angeles (USA), and Rome (Italy).

Ma Yansong, Yosuke Hayano and Qun Dand.

MA YANSONG

Ma Yansong is a Beijing-born architect (1975) recognized as an important voice in a new generation of architects. He graduated from the Beijing Institute of Civil Engineering and Architecture. Ma attended Yale University after receiving the American Institute of Architects Scholarship for Advanced Architecture Research in 2001 and holds a master's degree in Architecture from Yale.

He shares his knowledge as an adjunct professor at the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Tsinghua University, and the University of Southern California. Ma Yansong's journey is a continuous narrative unfolding, exploring innovation and pushing the boundaries of what we perceive as the built environment.

Since the founding of MAD in 2004, his works in architecture and art have been widely published and exhibited. Ma Yansong was awarded the 2006 Architecture League Young Architects Award. In 2008 he was selected as one of the twenty most influential Young Architects today by ICON magazine and Fast Company named him one of the ten most creative people in architecture in 2009. In 2010 he became the first architect from China to receive a RIBA fellowship.

“I work with emotion and with the context. When I design a building, I close my eyes and feel as if I saw a virtual world which lays half way between the city, the nature and the land. It goes from large scale to small scale. Many things travel in front of my eyes; I feel them and try to find the way to express my feelings. The language I use is the least important of it all. It does not matter whether they are straight lines, curves... I only intend for people to feel the same or to find something unexpected” says Ma Yansong. “MAD is an attitude, a posture towards architecture, towards society. Through our work we want people to be inspired by a place through local nature, time and space”, he states.

Photograph by Daniel J.Allen

Published on: April 19, 2023

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