Nikola Andonov
MADA Architecture studio, Serbia
MADA Architecture studio is an idea-driven collective on a pursuit of new (spatial) experiences, playing with roles and scales and embracing methods beyond experiments.
Probably the easiest way to comprehend MADA’s approach is through its 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.”
Since its inception, MADA has worked on an array of projects, ranging in scale from Venice Biennale(s), EXPO Pavilion in Milan, and a memorial park in Kuwait, to a mixed-use complex in Belgrade and a housing block in Užice, Serbia.
In honour of their experiments and ideas, MADA has been crowned with several national and international awards and recognitions, and their work has been published in various online and printed professional platforms and magazines.
On a significant plateau of Luštica peninsula, almost ten years ago, we started building relationships and discovering old stone structures that have remained buried by the great earthquake in 1979, covered in unforgiving Adriatic macchia vegetation which even goats do not consume.
Regardless of the program and the scale, each structure was defined by some common features and narratives – displaying imperfections, conserving history and rebuilding something no one knows what it looked like.
A comprehensive set of rules led us to adopt the character of the surrounding ruins and apply it to each new structure rising from barely visible traces lying in the grass in an effort to build a new one that we can call old.
Authors: MADA Architecture studio
Location: Luštica peninsula, Montenegro
