Becoming oneself

MADA Architecture studio is a Belgrade-based collective, conceived as a child of a larger group of authors that took part at the Venice Biennale in 2012, representing the Republic of Serbia with the project titled JEDAN:STO/100. Probably the easiest way to comprehend MADA’s approach is through it’s very name – “mada” (cyrilic: „мада“) meaning “even though” in Serbian. This hint of open-endedness reflects the idea that “design gives you answers as it grows and becomes oneself.”

A changing routine

Our daily exercise lies in switching scales and roles - in the morning we could all be working on building a model for a prestigious international exhibition, and after the lunch break we could dive into a huge residential complex. It's a brain-bending routine that never goes out of fashion in our case - we hope it's also the juice that will keep our practice fresh forever.

Jumping between fields and scales

The only surprise after seven years of practice is that we still didn't get to become experts in any particular field. We believe this makes us flexible to jump in-between typologies and scales. Our long-term desire is to be completely independent and become our own Client. We are patiently building our network of collaborators and partners, and already working on some small-scale visions.

Facing the future

This pandemic has taught us not to plan anything, yet to think about everything. We've been brainstorming lately about productising and monetising our knowledge and ideas. It's obvious that some kind of crisis will hit the construction industry, but with a certain delay - maybe we should be ready for it.