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." 

"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 enter and breathe life into the space. The emptiness provokes a chance encounter between individuals and engenders dialogues. The emptiness resonates with the environment, becomes one with the garden, and blossoms into a microcosmos of infinite creativity," Ando again offered.

A series of over 100 different events and public programs will take place surrounding its opening, curated into three separate Ando-inspired themes (Memories of Place, Craftsmanship, A Blank Canvas). A total of ten commissions from various groups and artists will take place throughout. 

The opening week will also commence a slate of activations and other free festivities, including the seventh BLAKitecture forum, an RMIT University student fashion show, the MTalk lecture series, and a DJ competition aimed at promoting aspiring female musicians. 

MPavilion commissioner Naomi Milgrom added finally: "The architects, artists, designers and thinkers with whom we are collaborating reflect the creativity, diversity and vibrancy found in Melbourne, a local and global center of design. We can’t wait for locals and visitors alike to experience Tadao Ando’s iconic MPavilion design as they join us for events during our milestone season."

The Ando commission follows last year’s contribution from Thailand-based all(zone).