Mad Dinner: A Monograph on the Beijing-Based MAD Office [Paperback]

Ma Yansong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2008

MAD DINNER is the first book by MAD office, Beijing-based architectural office. Organized around the metaphor of dinner table conversation, the book is a collection of ideas and opinions about topics ranging from politics to ecology to fame to the future. The dinner's guests include people from all levels of Chinese society: a government official, hairdresser, migrant laborers, a doctor, a taxi driver, and a developer are all brought together to offer their views in an atmosphere of openness and exchange. MAD's work is embedded in a series of extended conversations with international advisors, including the Swiss curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, British writer Ian Buruma, filmmakers Zhang Yimou and Jia Zhangke, and the artist Ai Weiwei. The conversations work in tandem with MAD's proposals to reveal their essential account of the architect's practice and experience inside of China, the fastest urbanization in world history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Written in the form of imaginary dinner conversations with real people in and beyond Beijing, including a taxi driver and hairdresser, as well as MAD architects, the result is a kaleidoscopic, vibrantly dramatic slice of how iconoclastic architecture is actively reflecting and shaping a new society. Consider this book a tasty and unpredictable intellectual banquet. --The Christian Science Monitor


Wildly futuristic designs and [a] sneak peek at Asia s exciting new skylines... A compelling look at urban planning, culture, art, and iconography, through the eyes of China s most stimulating young architects. --URBANE

From winning designs for studios and differences in design permits and processes to how architectural ideas are conveyed, MAD DINNER is a unique, outstanding contribution to the study of world design and architecture and is a top pick for either art or Chinese cultural studies libraries. --The Midwest Book Review

A marvellously interdisciplinary book. --PingMag

Highly recommended. --Library Bookwatch

They are China's wild young architects and they call themselves MAD.
--Arc Space

About the Author

MAD is a Beijing-based studio that has won numerous international design competitions, including the Absolute Tower in Toronto. MAD's designs embrace the advent of a new era, reflecting the transformation of life style and the experience of multimedia formats in contemporary Chinese cities. On Exhibition: November 2007, the Dansk Arkitektur Center, Copenhagen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Actar; Bilingual edition (July 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8496954218
• ISBN-13: 978-8496954212
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #664,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A top pick for either art or Chinese cultural studies libraries, January 14, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mad Dinner: A Monograph on the Beijing-Based MAD Office (Paperback)

Any collection strong in Chinese culture, art, and architecture will love MAD DINNER. Its structure, focus and contents are very different from your usual art or cultural exploration, juxtaposing art and architectural images with dialogues by ordinary individuals and designers on how the work or piece affected their lives and reflects Chinese cultural patterns and perceptions. From winning designs for studios and differences in design permits and processes to how architectural ideas are conveyed, MAD DINNER is a unique, outstanding contribution to the study of world design and architecture and is a top pick for either art or Chinese cultural studies libraries.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch