10 MPavilion Chair Commissions Gifted to Powerhouse

Powerhouse has announced the gift by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation of the complete series of 10 MPavilion Chair Commissions to the museum’s collection.

Conceived and created by Naomi Milgrom AC as an initiative of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, this year sees MPavilion celebrate a decade as the country’s leading architectural commission and cultural laboratory.

Since 2014, the Naomi Milgrom Foundation has invited extraordinary architects from Australia and across the world to design a temporary pavilion at the Queen Victoria Gardens in Melbourne’s heart. From this MPavilion, a five-month design festival of free events is launched – prompting locals and visitors alike to engage in the role of design in contemporary society, moments of creative expression, and diversity in every possible form. When its season draws to a close, the MPavilion is gifted to the city and relocated to a permanent home in the community where it can remain as a catalyst for conversation.

The Foundation commissions a chair for each MPavilion, which elevates the careers of emerging and established designers who respond to the unique approach and process of each MPavilion architect. The winning design is prototyped, manufactured and used onsite during the MPavilion season – reaching an expansive network of local and international collaborators, media, partners and visitors.

Previous MPavilion chairs have been designed by Sean Godsell, OMA, Carme Pinós, Chris Connell, BoardGrove Architects, nüüd studio, Craftspeople in Mumbai and Canberra Design Lab.

This year’s Chair Commission was designed by Melbourne’s Davidov Architects, who said sustainability and environmental concerns prompted their use of locally sourced Radiata Pine. Pritzker Prize Laureate and MPavilion 10 architect Tadao Ando selected their Circle|Square from almost 100 submissions, the most received in MPavilion history. The Chair Commission will be onsite for all to experience when MPavilion opens in the Queen Victoria Gardens this summer.

The complete series of 10 MPavilion Chair Commissions will be permanently housed at Powerhouse Castle Hill, affording the residents of Sydney and greater New South Wales the opportunity to view these works.

‘We are delighted to gift the MPavilion series of 10 Chair Commissions to the Powerhouse Collection. This year marks a decade of MPavilion as Australia’s leading architecture commission, creating a place for the community to engage in conversations and ideas on how architecture, art and design can change lives. With one of the nation’s finest collections of Australian design, the Powerhouse is the most fitting home for our MPavilion Chairs. We look forward to seeing them on display as part of Sydney Design Week in September,’ said Naomi Milgrom AC, founder of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

‘Powerhouse is thrilled to partner with MPavilion, which also sits at the intersection between critical theory, design, architecture and art. By acquiring the complete collection of MPavilion Chair Commissions at Powerhouse Castle Hill, we can share this incredible design work with our communities here in Sydney. Powerhouse is incredibly grateful to the Naomi Milgrom Foundation for this exceptional gift, which captures design history from the internationally acclaimed MPavilion program,’ said Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah.

The 10 MPavilion Chair Commissions will be on display at Powerhouse Castle Hill during Sydney Design Week, which runs from September 15 to 24.

More information: mpavilion.org