Past MPavilions

MPAVILION 2021 BY map studio (venice)

Location soon to be announced.

In 2021, we welcomed international architecture, urbanism and design practice, MAP studio (Venice) as our designer.

The geometric, kaleidoscopic design of MPavilion 2021—‘The LightCatcher’— was envisioned as an urban lighthouse, set to illuminate MPavilion’s diverse program of free cultural events over the summer. The design comprises a reticular steel structure in galvanized and painted tubular profiles that support a set of panels in a mirror-finish aluminium coating, reflecting light, colours, activities and people who use the space. The MPavilion 2021 structure appears to float above the ground level on a coloured, organic-shaped surface. 

MPAVILION 2019 BY Glenn Murcutt

To be located at The University of Melbourne
University Square, Carlton, VIC, 3053

In 2019 Pritzker Prize-winning Glenn Murcutt AO designed a characteristically thoughtful, climate-responsive MPavilion for the program’s sixth season. 

Internationally influential for his environmentally responsible designs with a distinctive Australian character, Murcutt’s MPavilion heralds a milestone in the architect’s fifty-year career as his first civic city design. The pavilion relays Murcutt’s longstanding interest in linear buildings that make efficient use of researched site and climatic conditions. Prioritising a view of the Yarra River and city skyline with weather-effective design elements, the MPavilion consists of a rectangular plan and round steel columns supporting wing-like trusses wrapped in translucent tensile membrane, shaping a buoyant white roof that is lit from within at night. The result is a sleek and adaptable MPavilion resting on the landscape.

 

Located at The University of Melbourne

Visit the archived 2019 website

MPAVILION 2018 BY CARME PINÓS

Location soon to be announced.

In 2018, MPavilion welcomed Barcelona-based architect and educator Carme Pinós of Estudio Carme Pinós as our esteemed designer. Carme is one of the world’s leading architectural voices, with projects spanning public architecture, social housing, urban refurbishment and furniture and object design.

Carme’s origami-inspired design attracted attention from all around the worldWallpaper* noted: “In a nod to Pinós’ passion for inclusive and engaging, community-focused architecture—which highlights the project’s overall ongoing commitment to ‘building communities and women in leadership’—the architect imagined the space as a set of wings that ‘open’ the pavilion to the city.”

MPavilion 2018 will be relocated to a new permanent location soon.

Visit the archived 2018 website

MPAVILION 2017 BY OMA / REM KOOLHAAS & DAVID GIANOTTEN

Located at Monash University Clayton
26 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton VIC 3800

The vibrant MPavilion 2017, designed by Netherlands-based OMA / Rem Koolhaas & David Gianotten, has been described by the duo as a “modern-day amphitheatre”.

With flexibility and community in mind, OMA designed a living structure that integrated with the surrounding landscape and contained rotatable components, allowing interactions from all angles.

The design was celebrated, welcoming over 117,000 visitors to the site over 133 days of the program, and has been shortlisted by the prestigious INDE.Awards in the category of ‘The Influencer’ for its impact on the Asia Pacific region. It was also named by international design bible Wallpaper* as one of the ‘Top Buildings that Shaped Culture in 2017’.

MPavilion 2017 can now be visited at Monash University’s Clayton campus.

Visit the archived 2017 website

MPAVILION 2016 BY BIJOY JAIN OF STUDIO MUMBAI

Located at Melbourne Zoo
Elliott Ave, Parkville VIC 3052

Bijoy Jain’s and Studio Mumbai’s MPavilion 2016 was a wonderful point of difference to AL_A’s technological triumph of 2015.

Using traditional materials and methods, Bijoy’s stunning architecture combined the materials of bamboo, rope and karvi panels with the concept of ‘lore’ to create an architectural work of beauty, warmth and cohabitation—a place of meaning.

MPavilion 2016 can now be visited at Melbourne Zoo.

Visit the archived 2016 website

MPAVILION 2015 BY AL_A

Located at the Docklands
770 Collins St, Docklands VIC 3008

AL_A’s Amanda Levete designed a canopy-inspired MPavilion that was truly a triumph in technology, reimagining what a pavilion can be.

Wallpaper* featured AL_A’s design in a list of 15 installation that capture the global imagination: “A truly timeless installation, whether temporary or permanent, alters its surroundings by broadening the idea of what could belong there.

What is done with art cannot be undone—and our world is richer for it.” Designboom named it as part of their top 10 temporary structures of 2015 selection.

MPavilion 2015 can now be visited at Docklands.

Visit the archived 2015 website

MPAVILION 2014 BY SEAN GODSELL

Located at The Hellenic Museum
280 William St, Melbourne VIC 3000

Sean Godsell’s inaugural MPavilion is inspired by outback sheds and verandahs, and the symmetry of classical Greek design.

It has drawn attention here and overseas, winning a 2015 Australian Institute of Architects award as well as a nomination for a World Architecture News award.

Describing the building’s daily opening ceremony, The Wall Street Journal said: “The pavilion’s beauty lies in its movement. Every morning, pneumatic arms lift the walls and roof, opening the space underneath.”

MPavilion 2014, now modified, can now be visited on the grounds of the Hellenic Museum.

Visit the archived 2014 website

Wominjeka (Welcome). We acknowledge the people of the Eastern Kulin Nations as the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet. We pay our respects to the land, their ancestors and their elders—past, present and to the future.