We work for MAD / intern collection 41

MAD no doubt is one of the most recognized architectural practices in China and worldwide. Every year,
MAD receives countless job and internship applications. To be able to work at MAD will definitely enrich
your career as even though the people working here might have been lucky, but are undeniably
outstanding. What could possibly be on the minds of the MAD interns?

MAD无疑是中国最受瞩目的建筑师事务所之一，同时在世界范围内也受到极高的关注。
MAD每年都收到来自全世界不计其数的工作申请和实习申请。
能够进入MAD学习和工作一段时间，职业生涯无疑会变得精彩丰富，
在这里的人们，也许是幸运的，但肯定是优秀的。
在MAD工作的实习生们，他们脑子里天马星空的想法是什么样的?

Name: Jinhui (Crystal) Huang
Educational Institution:
Graduated 2011 University of Virginia (B.S. on Architecture);
2012 Fall Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MArch I
Year: 2012
Nationality: Xiamen, China
Email: potatohoney@gmail.com

Who is your favourite architect? Why?
I don’t really have a favourite architect. Every architect has his/her own uniqueexperience that forms the interpretation of architecture. In other words, there is no goodor bad architecture. Every piece of work is controversial. I try not to judge the nature ofa building from the perspective of being an architect. For instance, I used to dislikeOMA’s CCTV tower in Beijing during my “naughty-period” (the period I was criticizing mostarchitecture). I thought it tried too hard to break the architectural consistency in suchancient city and stand out calling for everybody’s attention. However, the formal gestureof the building really meets the political need which is a big success of this architecture.

What is the major characteristic of your current school’s education?
The B.S. program in University of Virginia helped students build up a strong foundation forunderstanding architecture as well as getting extensive knowledge of other subjects such asphilosophy and natural science. Also, the school provides a platform for students toexperiment their ideas both virtually and physically; these research and practiceopportunities are not only carried on in the academic environment, but also in thesurrounding communities.

What have you gained during the MAD internship?
It was quite an exciting experience in MAD. As one of the avant-garde firms in China, MADhas been exploring new scenario of Chinese architecture with inherited philosophy that hasbeen developed throughout Chinese history. I really respect this spirit in MAD.

What are your thoughts and feelings upon Chinese Architecture and the environment?Any suggestion?
I have been highly respecting traditional Chinese architecture and the philosophy carriedalong the design. China has been developing in incredible speed, which creates a lot ofopportunities for architects to explore their visions in different scales. However, problemscaused by the rapid changes have also come along. When the global resources and thoughtsflow into the border, it is critical for Chinese architects to place themselves in the riverof the history and culture to prevent the attitude of levity.

What is your dream?
If one-day there is a debate of “whether architecture can influence people’s perceptionupon this world”, I hope to stand up and say “yes” pointing at one of my work.

What would you do if you were not an architect?
I always think of being a journalist if I am not doing architecture, because it is an efficient way of helping people and engaging myself more into the society.

What is your dream project?
It depends on how you define “dream”.

What is your favourite project in your portfolio? Why?
Every project is a foot step of mine, and they are all growing up as I have been reviewing them over and over again.

姓名: 黄瑾慧
学校: 2011毕业于弗吉尼亚大学，2012 麻省理工
年级: 2012
国籍: 中国, 厦门
电邮: potatohoney@gmail.com

最喜欢的建筑师是谁？为什么？
我并没有特定喜欢的建筑师。我认为每个建筑师都有各自对建筑不同的诠释，换句话说，建筑没有对与
错。并且，我一直避免以建筑设计生的名义去评判一个建筑。举个例子，对CCTV tower我曾经有一定的偏
见，我认为它为了突出自己的奇特形态而不去考虑一些所谓“建筑师所需要思考的重要因素”，例如它似
乎没有足够尊重北京这个文化悠久的城市所有的形态。但是后来我开始尝试着从各个角度去看待这个建
筑，比如从一个政治的角度来说，CCTV tower的外形和体量相当成功地实现了其作为标志性建筑的作用。

你所在学校的教育特点？
弗吉尼亚大学的建筑本科在帮助学生建立起对建筑认识的同时，也提供给学生很大的空间去接触除了建筑
以外的不同学科比如哲学和自然科学。学校同时给学生提供了很多试验自己想法的平台，有在虚拟空间里
的，也有在现实世界里的。而且，这些实践不光是在学院中，还有很多是在社会环境里实现的。

在MAD实习最大的收获是什么？
在MAD的这段实习经历是非常让人兴奋的。作为一个建筑领域的创新者，MAD一直致力于运用中国宝贵的哲
学思想于建筑设计的创新中。我非常欣赏这种精神。

你对中国建筑的感触是什么？建议是什么？
我一直很敬仰中国的传统建筑和其中蕴含的文化思想。中国处于高速发展的阶段，这提供给很多建筑师实
现自己建筑理想的平台。但同时，这样的形势也导致了很多的问题。当国际上的思想与资源不断涌入中国
时，国内建筑师应当更慎重地将自己放在悠久的历史文化长河中考虑问题。

你的梦想是什么？

如果有一天有个争论的话题是“建筑是否可以影响人们价值观的形成”，我可以大胆地站起来用我的设计
作为正面的例子来辩论。

你如果不当建筑师会选择什么职业？
如果不做建筑的话，我会希望致力于新闻媒体工作。因为那也是一个了解社会帮助群众的有效途径。

你梦想中的项目是什么样的？
暂未定论。

在自己的作品集中，你最喜欢的作品是什么？为什么？
我的每个设计都是一个成长的脚印。并且，在我一次一次重新审阅他们的时候，他们同时也在不断成长。

 

INSTITUTION OF MEASUREMENT

The aim of the project is to produce architecture as a manifesto responding to New York’s social condition. People’s value system and their consciousness about the surroundings are greatly formed by the consumer culture in the city. The nature of this architecture is the erosion of consumer culture and reconstruction of alternative value systems.

[Institutional Proposal] Redefine Institution: The institution is a place that guides people to think about the ideology they have been carrying and question about what forms their value systems. [Urban Proposal] The site locates at the intersection of 10th Ave and 30th Street. The urban proposal takes the advantage of highline’s potential to trigger the formation of consumer culture and deconstruct it. [Formal Proposal] The building contains two layers of skin. The inner skin undergoes the process of deconstruction and reconstruction to meet the program changes. The outer skin uses its formal gesture speaking to the city about the core idea of the building.

设计的意图是建立一个影响社会群体意识的标志性建筑。在纽约，人们的意识受消费文化的影响非常之深，即使博物馆等社会机构也被消费文化所侵蚀。这个建筑是腐蚀这种社会意识的载体，让参观者了解自己价值观的组成因素从而建立起更多样而成熟的主观性思想。

社会机构应该提供足够的线索让人对其社会意识和价值观有深入的思考。

场地位于第十大道和三十街的交界处。这个建筑利用HIGHLINE来吸引大量的消费项目，然后将其腐蚀。这个建筑由两个皮层组成。内皮层由结构经拆散和重组后生成，外表层是在城市里实现建筑核心的表现和传播。

 

THE PRESENCE OF THE PAST (-Woolen Mill Museum)

History shapes who we are and the identity of a place. Everybody has their way of communicating with the past. Woolen Mill was one of the major developments in Charlottesville. Since World War II, the mill went downhill and gradually got forgotten by residents in the city. The key phase of the construction is excavation. Without setting up specific programs and over-articulating the site, the museum unveils an unprocessed piece of history for visitors to explore in their own ways.

历史塑造了我们的个性意识和地域特性。每个人都会以不同的方式与历史沟通。Woolen Mill曾是是Charlottesville一个重要的生产基地，但是在第二次世界大战之后开始渐渐从人们的记忆里消逝。这个设计的重点把被拆毁的工厂给挖掘出来，然后以最原始的面貌展现给市民。设计中尽量避免生套的功能安排，而是提供给游客一个自由探索的空间。

 

REFOLD THE EDGE (-Psychopathic Center)

[Overview] This project discusses about the alternative concepts of Boundary and seeks for better solutions to programs with restrictive physical limitations. Psychopathic center has been defined as a restricting entity isolated from the community. The project attempts to experiment other formal opportunities to create a place providing friendly treatment and engaged itself in the communal development. [About the site and the design intention in city scale] In Charlottesville, the university shares a great portion of the city with the citizens. However, there are physical and mental boundaries between the two. The site is chosen to be at the border, so the building is not only a psychopathic center but a platform where different groups of people share resources and their experience of the city. [About the formal vocabulary] The angular architectural vocabularies are generated to meet the needs of both physical limitation and visual guidance. It would not only provoke patients’ bright attitude to the treatments, but also generate a bridge connecting two distinguished groups of people (college students and citizens) without interrupting activities in the treatment areas.

这个项目主要讨论了关于“界限”的不同构建方式。精神病院一直都被大家从社区中隔离开来，病人也被严格地困在高高的围墙之中。这个项目希望通过对建筑形态的变化来融合精神病院和社区活动，从而提供给病人一个更人性化的治疗环境，也让人们更关爱和理解这些病人。

在Charlottesville，大学占据了很大的部分。虽然和市民共享城市土地和设施，学生和市民间却一直有着强烈的分界线。这个建筑群的场地处于学校和社区的地理分界点，这是一个很好的平台会去创造机会让不同的人群更频繁地交流和共享城市资源。

设计中采用多角度的墙体以灵活地平衡对病人的限制和其视野的开拓。这样变幻的形态可以满足不同群体人活动的交叉以实现建筑作为“桥”的概念。

 

FLATTEN MANHATTAN (team project with Andre Bighorse)

New York City, as vast and complex as it is can be taken apart and understood in terms of layers. Infrastructure in the city overlaps and winds its way throughout the ordered grid of the city. One mode often neglected and overseen is from the perspective of the bicyclist.

The project intends to promote Bicycle as one of the leading layer of infrastructure that triggers the flattened pattern of infrastructure-the subway, bus, car traffic, pedestrian and cycling. Each lane carries its own story. When different types of infrastructure meet, new fantasy block is formed. 

纽约的交通系统非常的繁杂，不同的交通方式在其网格城市布局中穿梭。但是从另一个角度看，这些层层叠加的系统可以被拆解和重组以创建更清晰的交通脉搏。

自行车是一种可控的交通方式，它可以快速在城市里穿梭，也可以放慢而享受城市的各种风景。沿着东河岸，将各种交通方式平行铺开，再以不同速度的自行车道为主体重新对其整合，从而形成另类体验城市的网络。

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Name: Jinhui (Crystal) Huang 黄瑾慧
Email: potatohoney@gmail.com