Each year since 2014 the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, a supporter of arts, design and architecture, has commissioned an architect to design a pavilion that hosts a free program of cultural events in the heart of Melbourne’s city from November to March. This season’s Pavilion was designed by one of the MPavilion’s most high-profile Architects to date, Pritzker Prize Laureate Tadao Ando from Japan. The MPavilion is Australia’s leading architecture commission and community-focused structure.
Project summary
World-renowned Pritzker Prize Laureate Tadao Ando is one of Japan’s leading contemporary architects whose work is synonymous with the elegant use of concrete and his striking geometric interventions in nature. The pavilion is located in Queen Victoria Gardens opposite the National Gallery of Victoria and is Ando’s very first piece of work in Australia.
Ando’s MPavilion is conceived as a meeting place within Melbourne’s Arts Precinct and expresses Ando’s desire to create a memorable structure in direct response to the surrounding landscape.
The design features an impossibly slender 14.4-metre diameter aluminium-clad steel canopy that rests on a central concrete column. Offset walls create two entrances that lead to the internal courtyard of the structure. The concrete walls of varying lengths partially enclose the space, forming a sanctuary reminiscent of a Japanese walled garden – in Ando’s words, “a space to reflect, interact and appreciate that which is contained within, be it nature, art or people.”
Long horizontal slot openings run the length of both the north and south walls to frame views of Melbourne’s skyline and parklands, connecting the city and Queen Victoria Gardens to the structure’s interior. Its geometric forms and symmetry are underscored by an internal arrangement that is half-paved and half-reflecting pool, mirroring the canopy, sky, city, and surrounds.
Tadao Ando said: “For MPavilion, the spatial sequence of circles and squares will create spatial sequences of light and dark. These will change during the day and seasons as the sun moves through the sky. The surfaces the light touches will also change—walls will reveal arresting patterns of shadow, while the water from the reflecting pool may cast dappled patterns on a previously plain surface.”
“The design for the MPavilion began with a desire to find a scene of eternity within the oasis of Melbourne, the Queen Victoria Gardens. Eternal, not in material or structure, but in the memory of a landscape that will continue to live in people’s hearts..”
MPavilion has grown to become one of Australia’s most visited festivals, attracting more than 350,000 people in 2022. AECOM is honoured to continue our partnership with the Naomi Milgrom Foundation for the fourth year, and to ensure the highly successful technical execution of such a significant project.
Services
AECOM is a proud MPavilion partner providing structural, facades, electrical, hydraulics, fire and sustainability consulting services and advice to the design team. AECOM’s engineering work, particularly around the flawless execution of the concrete structure, required meticulous detailing and technical design to achieve the simple and effortless outcome required by the design concept.
Our involvement with MPavilion showcases our ability to work at all scales and collaborate with the best designers worldwide to create innovative, elegant and inspiring structures.
