MPavilion

The project for the temporary pavilion commissioned by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation in Queen Victoria Gardens explores the condition of architectural device as a powerful attractor and display of the creative and dynamic quality of the city of Melbourne, as previous editions have fully demonstrated.

The structure we imagined is a shimmering device that qualifies  itself as a urban lighthouse that hosts and enlighten the cultural activities for the community planned for the 2021 summer season in Melbourne.

The pavilion’s geometric abstraction qualify it as a stage intended to host a multiplicity of ever-changing events, such as the variations of the light that it will be able to reflect. A kaleidoscopic structure that reflects and amplifies activities, people and colors. For these reasons we called it  The Light Catcher.

The Light Catcher propose itself as an urban sign of the consolidated role of civic place of meeting and inspiration that distinguishes the MPavillon in Queen Victoria Gardens. Its  permeable system of ground supports U shaped qualify itself as a livable device in the different ways that the intense program and the different types of events will require.

The pavilion is thought also as a stage around which people gather to attend events and shows.

The pavilion is composed of a reticular steel structure in galvanized and painted tubular profiles that support a set of panels in a mirror finishing aluminum coating reflecting  light, colors, activities and people who will use this space.  All these surfaces will also function as shading elements.

The three-dimensional mesh – based on 2x2x2  meters square modules – configures a volume with base of 12 meters side (6 modules) and high of 6 meters (3 modules) that covers  overall an area of 144 sqm.

The structure seems to float above the ground level on a colored organic shaped crushed rubber surface and it defines inside an hollow space.  The three-dimensional lattice is supported by four pillars made by precast reinforced concrete. These elements,  in force of the particular U-shaped form and smooth edges design, can be used also as sitting places.

A small circular kiosk hosts an useful space to shelter the service carts or the mobile seats and it could be potential support for any specific activities.

The pavilion is designed as a temporary structure that, through the use of precast components, can be easily relocated and can guarantee a longer life in accordance with the indications of the  Naomi Milgrom Foundation  brief.

Light Catcher opened 2nd December in Queen Victoria Gardens in Melbourne.

We believe that  the kaleidoscope structure takes on a double meaning of an urban lighthouse to gather people around as an expression of new hope and to glitter our minds into appreciating new horizons. But it’s also a kind of warning: it is not a shelter in nature as the previous pavilions were, but an element of amplification of human activities in nature as a metaphor of man’s current condition—inspiring an aspect of new awareness of this fragile situation.

In 2021, MPavilion celebrates its longest-ever season of programming, featuring a range of international and local collaborations, the slate includes over 400 in-person events, spanning talks, workshops, performances, kid-friendly experiences, community projects and installations.