Archinect - News

Tadao Ando's MPavilion extended for another year in Melbourne

2024-04-10T13:26:00-04:00

The Naomi Milgrom Foundation and City of Melbourne have jointly announced they will be extending the run of Tadao Ando’s new MPavilion commission at Queen Victoria Gardens for another full year until March of 2025.

"We’ve been thrilled to see visitors of all ages and from far and wide flock to MPavilion, curious to experience what Tadao Ando, an extraordinary master of design, has created for Melbourne. Being in the pavilion, looking across water and out to the green of the surrounding parklands has an immediate and unique calming effect, a slowing down amidst the fast pace of contemporary life," the foundation’s founder Naomi Milgrom said.

Photo: John Gollings, courtesy of MPavilion.

"The pavilion has seen myriad curated and informal activities this last summer, from pilates and picnics to drawing, photography and more. Engaging in great architecture and design enriches our city and our lives, and this extended partnership with the City of Melbourne means even more of the community...

Art performance at Tadao Ando's concrete MPavilion features grayscale gelato

2024-01-26T17:26:00-05:00

An exciting and tasty art performance has taken shape at the Tadao Ando-designed MPavilion in Melbourne, Australia.

It comes in the form of grayscale gelato, created by Brazilian artist João Loureiro in collaboration with local creamery Piccolina Gelateria. The treat is available in six different flavors, each a different shade of gray ranging from light gray to nearly black. No flavors are labeled, stimulating a unique and surprising sensory experience with pavilion visitors during the Australian summer months.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Piccolina Gelateria (@piccolinagelateria)

The gelato colors mirror the pavilion’s aesthetic, which comprises enclosed concrete perimeter walls and an aluminum-clad, single-column main structure and roof.

Related: Tadao Ando's MPavilion opens in Melbourne. Image: Beatrice Eckermann

As stated by MPavilion, "...this work questions our sense of comfort and forces us to rethink associations that have been rooted in u...

Tadao Ando's MPavilion opens in Melbourne

2023-11-14T20:00:00-05:00

Tadao Ando’s oasis-like design for the MPavilion 10 has been revealed in Melbourne to coincide with the five-month commission’s grand opening this Thursday.

Photos taken ahead of the opening ceremonies reveal the intimacy of the low-profile structure in the city’s Queen Victoria Gardens, which includes a reflecting pool in homage to traditional Japanese gardens. Enclosed concrete perimeter walls frame an aluminum-clad single-column main structure covered by a 47-foot-wide roof.

Its production creates a sequence that plays on the architect’s career-long fascination with light and darkness. Ando said previously that he considers the design "eternal, not in material or structure but in the memory of a landscape that will continue to live in people’s hearts."

Photo: John Gollings, courtesy of MPavilion.

"It is the expression of human reason and the pursuit of ethereal space. With the circle and square, emptiness is given form. The emptiness, in its silence, lets the light and wind ente...

Tadao Ando reveals oasis-like MPavilion design

2023-05-11T16:18:00-04:00

Tadao Ando’s design for the 10th MPavilion in Melbourne has been revealed, showcasing the architect’s ambition towards placemaking and the social cohesion of memory and his related desire to "find a scene of eternity within the oasis" that is the city’s 12-acre Queen Victoria Gardens.

Ando says the pavilion will be "eternal, not in material or structure, but in the memory of a landscape that will continue to live in people’s hearts."

"To reflect the lively nature of the site, like a blank canvas, I imagined an architecture of emptiness," his statement to the press continues. "Pure geometry outlines the composition of this design. Ancient Egyptians used fundamental geometry to create ordered spaces and structures in the natural world. Geometry formed the foundation of philosophical study in ancient Greece."

Image courtesy of Tadao Ando Architects & Associates

"It is the expression of human reason and the pursuit of ethereal space. With the circle and square, emptiness is given form. T...

Tadao Ando is selected as the designer of the 10th MPavilion in Australia

2023-03-15T12:35:00-04:00

The Australian Naomi Milgrom Foundation has announced former Pritzker winner Tadao Ando will design the 10th MPavilion commission in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens.

Ando is now the seventh architect selected for the prestigious five-month-long commission, which began in 2014 and has since hosted over 3,500 free events for more than 900,000 guests since its inception.

The Chichu Art Museum / Naoshima by Tadao Ando Architects &Associates. Photo by Mitsuo Matsuoka. Courtesy Tadao Ando Architect & Associates

21_21 DESIGN SIGHT. Photo by Mitsuo Matsuoka, courtesy Tadao Ando Architect & Associates

The Pavilion will become his first-ever realized design within Australia and follows last year’s installation by the Thai studio all(zone), which will be on view until April 6th before being reinstalled elsewhere in the city.

Milgrom added that she has long admired how the architect’s work “responds to and incorporates the particularity of a place into his design, and his belief that archite...

all(zone)'s 2022 MPavilion opens to the public featuring an 'ingenious canopy'

2022-12-09T10:52:00-05:00

The 2022 MPavilion has officially opened in Melbourne, Australia. Designed by Thailand-based practice all(zone), the scheme is defined by an “ingenious canopy” comprising three fabric, tensile layers.

The outermost layer of the pavilion’s canopy is built from fishing nets, creating what the team calls a “stunning tactile texture.” The middle layer is formed of an STFE membrane; a weatherproof, anti-glare, transparent material ten times lighter than glass. Finally, the bottom layer is composed of a “waffle” of colored fabric made of 49 individual sections, designed to “move with the breeze and filter light, evoking the feeling of gently resting under trees.”

Photo credit: John Gollings

“Working on the MPavilion project with so many talented individuals has been an incredible journey,” said all(zone) design director Rachaporn Choochuey. “MPavilion is special because even though it’s called a temporary pavilion, it’s actually even more complex than a building. The engineering and manuf...

all(zone) will push new material boundaries in the ninth MPavilion

2022-07-12T12:51:00-04:00

Two months after being named the designer of the prestigious annual MPavilion commission in Melbourne, Australia, Thailand-based practice all(zone) has revealed an experimental concept featuring a mixture of materials and forms they claim are previously unseen in the country's architectural history.

The ninth edition of the pavilion will be displayed prominently in Melbourne's historic Queen Victoria Gardens and query audiences to “think more deeply about different ways of using materials in a sustainable future,” according to a new project announcement.

Image courtesy Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

By incorporating layers of colorful netting and a waterproof mesh membrane produced by the French manufacturer Serge Ferrari, the pavilion’s presence expands on the commission’s legacy of producing cultural incubators that form the basis for critical exchange in the marketplace of ideas. AECOM and the specialist engineering consultancy TENSYS are now working with all(zone) on a construction pr...

Thailand's all(zone) will create the 2022 MPavilion

2022-05-20T13:56:00-04:00

Innovative Thai practice all(zone) has been named the winner of Australia’s coveted annual MPavilion commission, now in its ninth iteration coming out of a two-year pandemic hiatus. The Bangkok-based studio will reveal its design for Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens site in July in advance of a public opening slated for November 17th.

The Naomi Milgrom Foundation, which manages the commission, commended the “playful” firm for having a “commitment to designing built environments where people can feel at home in the world,” adding that co-founder Rachaporn Choochuey’s direction “hold[s] people at the heart of their designs, viewing the spaces they are creating not just as physical architecture but as platforms for people to cheerfully convene, converse, and celebrate.”

all(zone)'s MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Image courtesy The Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

The Aussie answer to the UK’s yearly Serpentine Pavillion commission has seen past contributions from Gle...

Glenn Murcutt-designed MPavilion opens in Melbourne

2019-11-13T11:43:00-05:00

In celebration of his 50-year-long career, Australia's Pritzker Prize-winning architect consecrates the achievement with the opening of this year's MPavilion. The structure embraces Murcutt's fundamental approach to architecture, touching the ground lightly while thoughtfully considering the climatic characteristics of the site.

Photos by John Gollings

The MPavilion manifests itself as a flexible space, a "true pavilion," in the words of the architect, capturing the historical essence of pavilions as light and temporary buildings, at their core, tent structures. During the design process, Murcutt recalled a trip he had taken to Mexico, to the Yaxchilán ruins. A light aircraft carried the architect and his companions to their destination. During a lunch break, the group had a picnic in the shade provided by the wing of the aircraft:

"After lunch, I put my rucksack against the aircraft’s undercarriage and laid down, and there above me was the beautiful wing, lined with aircraft fabric...

Australian architect Glenn Murcutt to design 2019 MPavilion, now in its sixth year

2019-02-19T14:10:00-05:00

The Pritzker Prize-winning Australian architect Glenn Murcutt will design this year's MPavilion, a temporary structure erected each spring in Melbourne's historic Queen Victoria Gardens.

Now in its sixth iteration, the annual commission—an initiative of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation—is Australia's answer to the UK's widely popular Serpentine Pavilion. Others to have designed the months-long installation include Spanish architect Carme Pinós, Rem Koolhaas & David Gianotten of OMA, and Bijoy Jain, among others.

Mr. Murcutt, 82, is only the second Australian architect to be commissioned for the project, following Sean Godsell, who designed the inaugural pavilion in 2014. Murcutt is widely considered as one of the country's most profound architects, and is recognized for his designs that carry a distinctive Australian character. He doesn’t build outside Australia.

Magney House, Bingie Point (1982–84). Photo by Anthony Browell.

Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre, Riversdale (1996–9...

Carme Pinós designs an origami-inspired MPavilion for Melbourne

2018-07-02T14:00:00-04:00

Earlier this year, Barcelona-based architect Carme Pinós was selected as the designer for the 2018 MPavilion, and now we've also received first renderings of the origami-like temporary structure in Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens.

Rendering. Image courtesy of MPavilion.

"The design for MPavilion 2018 is an open geometric configuration assembled in two distinct halves supported by a central steel portal frame," reads the project description. "Two surfaces of timber latticework intersect with each other to form the pavilion’s roof. An altered topography forms three mounds that incorporate seating, allowing a multitude of community-focused experiences: dynamic, spontaneous and collective. Pinós’s design has inspired MPavilion’s program themes which include: building communities, fostering inclusive cities, women in leadership, visual languages: fashion and architecture, regional contexts, and landscape and nature."

Rendering. Image courtesy of MPavilion.

"Like an origami folding, two...

OMA’s MPavilion 2017 moves to new permanent home at Monash University

2018-03-06T14:49:00-05:00

A long summer season with well over 100,000 visitors and 477 free events over 133 days recently wrapped up for the OMA-designed MPavilion 2017 in Melbourne.

The structure will now commence a new, more permanent life after it has been announced that the pavilion will move from its temporary site at the Queen Victoria Gardens to a new home at Monash University in Clayton, a Melbourne suburb.

Photo: John Gollings. Image courtesy of MPavilion.

Conceptualized by Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten, this is the fourth MPavilion in a series of six to be gifted to the City of Melbourne by Australian philanthropist Naomi Milgrom.

Previous pavilions designed by Sean Godsell, Amanda Levete of AL_A, and Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai have found permanent homes at the Hellenic Museums, in Docklands, and in Melbourne Zoo.

Photo: Timothy Burgess. Image courtesy of MPavilion.

"We are pleased that OMA’s MPavilion 2017 will be relocated to one of Melbourne’s universities; places of knowledge and debate," s...

The 2018 MPavilion to be designed by award-winning Spanish architect Carme Pinós

2018-02-12T13:36:00-05:00

Announced this morning, the 2018 MPavilion, arriving in spring of this year, will be designed by the award-winning Carme Pinós. Now in its fifth iteration, the MPavilion is Australia's answer to the U.K's Serpentine Pavilion. An initiative of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, the design event commissions a leading international architect to erect a new temporary pavilion in Melbourne’s historic Queen Victoria Gardens every year. Past participating architects include Rem Koolhaas & David Gianotten of OMA, Bijoy Jain, Amanda Levete, and Sean Godsell.

The Spanish architect responsible for this year's forthcoming pavilion is internationally celebrated for her humanistic approach to designs ranging from cultural centers, educational institutions and public housing to office towers, urban landscapes and furniture design. Based in Barcelona, Pinós leads her eponymous architectural firm which she founded in 1991 after earning international recognition for her work with Enric Miralles. Signific...

MPavilion 2017, designed by Rem Koolhaas & David Gianotten, unveiled

2017-10-02T15:28:00-04:00

Australia's answer to the U.K's Serpentine Pavilion, MPavilion, opened over the weekend for its fourth iteration, unveiling the completed design by acclaimed architects Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of international firm OMA.

Photo Credit: Timothy Burgess.

Photo Credit: John Gollings.

The structure for MPavilion 2017 is shaped by two tiered grandstands—one fixed, the other moveable—and covered by a floating roof structure. Inspired by ancient amphitheaters, the rotating grandstand allows the pavilion to open up to the garden or broader cityscape and creates a flexible civic space that can function as a stage, auditorium or even a playground.

Photo Credit: John Gollings.

The main infrastructure for the project is a two-metre-deep gridded, machine-like canopy with a protective translucent roof embedded with advanced lighting technology for the series of free public events. The mechanics in the canopy can be activated per the type of event taking place—a...

OMA's design for 2017 Australia's MPavilion is revealed

2017-06-19T09:00:00-04:00

MPavilion is an Australian architectural commission and design event that annually erects a new temporary pavilion, designed by a leading international architect, in Melbourne’s historic Queen Victoria Gardens.
This year's structure, designed by OMA, is inspired by ancient amphitheaters. Blurring the lines between the inside and outside – and between audience and performer, OMA's pavilion creates a flexible civic space that can function as a stage, auditorium or even a playground.

Image courtesy OMA

Echoing the ideals of amphitheater typology, the pavilion comprises static and dynamic elements that allow for multiple configurations.

Image courtesy OMA

"The pavilion’s ground plan is shaped by two grand stands; one
fixed, the other movable, which together determine the setup of the performance space. The larger static grand stand is excavated from the surrounding landscape and embedded in 12 different species of indigenous plants, giving a sense of the Australian setting. The smaller gra...

Naomi Milgrom appoints OMA's Rem Koolhaas, David Gianotten for fourth MPavilion

2017-02-20T23:52:00-05:00

In pavilions you can test things you cannot do within buildings -Rem Koolhaas

Naomi Milgrom has appointed high-profile architects Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of Netherlands-based architecture firm OMA to design the fourth MPavilion temporary culture venue for Melbourne. MPavilion is Australia’s leading architectural commission and design event conceived and created by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation in 2014. Every year, one new temporary pavilion, designed by a leading international architect, is erected in Melbourne’s historic Queen Victoria Gardens.

Rem Koolhaas, founder of OMA and winner of the 2000 Pritzker Prize, is a controversial architect known for his large-scale projects such as CCTV "Pants Building" in Beijing and De Rotterdam "Vertical City" pictured above. On this year's appointment, Ms. Milgrom said “Rem Koolhaas is one of the world’s most provocative and influential architects. His contribution to the cultural landscape as an urban thinker together with OMA’s multi-disciplinary approach to architecture reflects MPavilion’s desire to inspire...

Photos (and video) of Amanda Levete's MPavilion

2015-10-07T20:40:00-04:00

The 2015 pavilion, founded and commissioned by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, was designed by AL_A, the studio of award-winning British architect Amanda Levete. The pavilion is made up of 13 large and 30 smaller petal-like shades, supported by four metre high columns.

Made from carbon fiber poles and roof petals, Amanda Levete's newly opened MPavilion (which runs through February 7th, 2016) also has an acoustic component, courtesy composer Matthias Schack-Arnott of Speak Percussion.

"Sunset Ritual," as the L.E.D. lighting and music show is known, welcomes the night in Melbourne, Australia.

Check out a far more swooping, aurally pleasing view of the MPavilion in this video:

Amanda Levete Picked to Design Melbourne's MPavilion

2015-04-09T14:15:00-04:00

“What is it that you can do in a pavilion that you can’t do in a building? Buildings – you don’t want them to move. How can we get this structure to respond in a very subtle way to the weather and perhaps amplify the sound of the wind moving through it?”

Whipsawing from tragedy to triumph, British architect and former Future Systems partner Amanda Levete has been awarded the design of the MPavilion, Australia's sprightly so-called version of the U.K.'s Serpentine Pavilion. Levete founded her current firm, Amanda Levete Architects, in 2009 after the death of her husband and design partner, Jan Kaplicky. The MPavilion, which is entering its second year, will run from October 5, 2015 to February 7, 2016 in Melbourne.

MPavillion is a kind of southern hemisphere Serpentine Pavilion

2014-10-24T18:29:00-04:00

Conceived as a kind of southern hemisphere Serpentine Pavilion, the MPavilion has just opened its first work, a 12×12 meter kinetic box by the local architect Sean Godsell. Using the typically restrained massing of his homes as a template Godsell has then animated the space with a fully louvered skin. The pavilion is placed in the 18th century Queen Victoria Garden with Melbourne’s high rises serving as a backdrop.

It's spring in Melbourne and there could not be a better place to spend an afternoon having a coffee than in a building that completely opens up.