The Naomi Milgrom Foundation unveiled the design for MPavilion 10, commissioned to the well-known Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The proposal for MPavilion 10 is a sample of the parameters that define his architecture with striking geometric interventions in nature and very careful and precise use of concrete.

MPavilion 10 will launch this summer, kicking off five months of free public programming at Queen Victoria Gardens in central Melbourne. This will be the tenth MPavilion festival, which has grown to be one of Australia's most visited and impactful festivals, attracting over 350,000 people last year.

Conceived as a new cultural and meeting place within the Melbourne botanical garden, Ando’s proposal for the MPavilion involves the creation of a singular structure closely related to the park.

Past architects have included: Rachaporn Choochuey, all(zone), Thailand (2022); Francesco Magnani and Traudy Pelzel, MAP Studio, Italy (2021); Glenn Murcutt, Australia (2019); Carme Pinós, Estudio Carme Pinós, Spain (2018), Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten, OMA, Netherlands (2017); Bijoy Jain, Studio Mumbai, India (2016); Amanda Levete, AL_A, United Kingdom (2015); Sean Godsell, Sean Godsell Architects, Australia (2014).
MPavilion 10 features a large canopy, a 14.4-meter aluminum-clad disc resting on a central concrete column. Two offset squares create two entrances that lead to the center of the pavilion. Concrete walls of varying lengths partially enclose the space to create a tranquil sanctuary reminiscent of a traditional Japanese walled garden.

A long (19,400mm x 225mm) horizontal opening running both the length of the north and south walls frames views of downtown Melbourne and the parklands, connecting the city and lush greenery of Queen Victoria Gardens to the MPavilion's interior. The geometric forms and symmetry are reinforced by an internal arrangement that is half paved, and a half reflecting pool, which mirrors the pavilion canopy, sky, city, and surrounding nature.
 
"The design began with a desire to create a sense of eternity within Melbourne’s garden oasis. I wanted to create an experience that will last forever in the hearts of all who visit. I imagine an architecture of emptiness, that lets light and breeze enter and breathe life into it. A place that resonates with the environment becomes one with the garden, and blossoms with infinite creativity. MPavilion 10 is designed to encourage encounters between people, the natural world, and endless dialogue."
Tadao Ando.
 
"Tadao Ando’s architecture is remarkable because it radically affects the way we perceive the world around us. Like Tadao Ando, I am passionate about architecture that promotes public life and encourages social interaction, and thrilled that Australians will be able to experience directly his genius through this incredibly special meeting place for conversation, the exchange of ideas, and contemplation. We look forward to seeing how visitors, designers, artists, and others will respond to this dramatic and serene space, as well as the creativity it will generate.
Naomi Milgrom, commissioner of MPavilion.

Eminent Australian architect Sean Godsell, principal of Sean Godsell Architects, has been appointed the executive architect in Australia for MPavilion 10. Godsell was selected as the inaugural MPavilion architect in 2014. Led by Tadao Ando, the construction of MPavilion 10 is a significant global collaboration between Japanese and Australian architects, engineers, and builders. Osaka, where Tadao Ando’s office is located, is the sister city of Melbourne, home of MPavilion.
 
Over the past ten years, MPavilion has worked with the world’s most significant architectural thinkers to create a space for engagement with urgent urban, civic, and design concerns. Ando is the seventh leading international architect to have his first work in Australia commissioned by MPavilion, the country’s foremost architecture commission and annual design festival.
 
MPavilion serves as a cultural laboratory where the community can come together to experience, engage, and share. In 2023, the annual five-month festival of free public programs will continue with talks and lectures, music, dance, performance, and kid-friendly workshops, among many other design-focused events. The MPavilion 10 themes, which will be informed by the concerns of Tadao Ando’s practice and current global design debate, will be announced shortly.

MPavilion is an ongoing initiative of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, the City of Melbourne, ANZ, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. The first nine MPavilions have welcomed more than 1,250,000 visitors and hosted more than 3,500 free events since its establishment in 2014. At the end of each MPavilion season, the Naomi Milgrom Foundation gifts the pavilion to the people of Victoria and relocates it to a new, permanent, public home in the community.

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Local architect.- Sean Godsell.
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Summer 2023
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MPavilion 2023. Queen Victoria Gardens. Melbourne, Australia.
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Tadao Ando was born in Osaka, Japan in 1941. A self-educated architect, he spent time in nearby Kyoto and Nara, studying firsthand the great monuments of traditional Japanese architecture. Between 1962 and 1969 he traveled to the United States, Europe, and Africa, learning about Western architecture, history, and techniques. His studies of both traditional Japanese and modern architecture had a profound influence on his work and resulted in a unique blend of these rich traditions.

In 1969 Ando established Tadao Ando Architect and Associates in Osaka. He is an honorary fellow in the architecture academies of six countries; he has been a visiting professor at Yale, Columbia, and Harvard Universities; and in 1997, he became professor of architecture at Tokyo University.

Ando has received numerous architecture awards, including the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1995, the 2002 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal, and also in 2002, the Kyoto Prize for lifetime achievement in the arts and philosophy. His buildings can be seen in Japan, Europe, the United States, and India.

In fall 2001, following up on the comprehensive master plan commissioned from Cooper, Robertson & Partners in the 1990s and completed in 2001, Tadao Ando was selected to develop an architectural master plan for the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute to expand its buildings and enhance its 140-acre campus.

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Published on: May 11, 2023
Cite: "Naomi Milgrom Foundation unveils design for MPavilion 10 by Tadao Ando" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/naomi-milgrom-foundation-unveils-design-mpavilion-10-tadao-ando> ISSN 1139-6415
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