MPavilion extended for two more seasons

The Naomi Milgrom Foundation’s annual MPavilion architecture commission has received an extension for a further two seasons.

The announcement comes amid excitement in the lead-up to the unveiling of the fourth MPavilion (designed by Rem Koolhaas & David Gianotten of OMA), and is the result of a unanimous decision by principal partners in MPavilion’s unique public–private partnership: the City of Melbourne, the Victorian State Government through Creative Victoria, ANZ and the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

The decision is testament to the success of the uniquely ‘Melbourne’ collaboration, which for the past three years has seen more than 230,000 visitors each season to MPavilion’s highly popular free public program intended to encourage debate about the role of design in improving the way Australians live and Melbourne’s rich cultural vitality.

This major investment sets the agenda for the further development of the internationally recognised, connected and awarded MPavilion project and its free four-month program of events. In its first three seasons (2014–2016), MPavilion collaborated with over 560 project partners to hold more than 1100 free events, including workshops and talks concerning urban planning, arts, architecture, design, science and contemporary culture.

Naomi Milgrom AO, founder of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, said: “When we started MPavilion in 2014, I could never have imagined how it would inspire and enthuse so many people. I am overwhelmed by the way MPavilion has become such an important part of Melbourne’s cultural life, and by the huge support we have received from the public, the design community, universities, arts organisations, and our wonderful corporate and philanthropic partners.”

“MPavilion is an extraordinary public–private partnership, and it is an honour to be able to extend the project for another two years in partnership with the City of Melbourne, the Victorian State Government through Creative Victoria, and ANZ.”

On the announcement of the two-year extension of the partnership with MPavilion, City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle AC said: “We are pleased to again partner with the Naomi Milgrom Foundation to bring this dynamic cultural project to Melbourne. The interest and buzz that MPavilion creates in the Queen Victoria Gardens every season is infectious, with more than 230,000 people attending free events at the pavilions since the program’s inception in 2014.”

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley said: “We are proud to partner with MPavilion as part of our commitment to building Victoria’s credentials as a global design leader, promoting our local design industry and capability, and building on our reputation as the creative state.”

Globally recognised as Australia’s leading architectural commission and design event, MPavilion has “captured the global imagination” (*Wallpaper Magazine, UK) since its inaugural commission in 2014, setting the agenda for design in Australia as an important civic space for participation, experimentation, knowledge and cultural engagement through architecture and design. For two years running (2015–16), Designboom has named MPavilion as one of the top 10 temporary structures in the world, and in 2015 MPavilion won the Australian Institute of Architects’ Victorian Architecture Award for Small Project Architecture.

Each MPavilion is gifted to the people of Melbourne by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and rebuilt in a permanent location, thanks to support from the City of Melbourne: MPavilion 2014, designed by Sean Godsell (AUS), now stands in the gardens of the Hellenic Museum; MPavilion 2015, designed by Amanda Levete of AL_A (GBR), resides in Docklands Park; and MPavilion 2016, designed by Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai (IND), is in the process of being relocated to the Melbourne Zoo with the assistance of Kane Constructions.

mpavilion.org