MPavilion 2018

The design brief emphasizes the overarching importance of promoting architecture through the development of a leading contemporary architectural event in Australia. MPavilion had to act as a centrepiece for a free public program of cultural events and activities; stimulate tourism; and promote Melbourne as a design capital through meaningful collaborations contained within the space. Visitors to the building are estimated at 500-800 per day, and the pavilion must be accessible to all with free entry, free events and disabled access. Designed as a relocatable structure, the pavilion must have weather protection, shade, and offer a café facility and lighting.

MPavilion 2018 was designed with an open geometric configuration, supported by a central steel portal frame. Two surfaces of timber latticework intersect with each other to form the pavilion’s roof allowing dappled sunlight to filter into the pavilion while simultaneously protecting visitors from the element. Carme’s sculptural pavilion rests on an altered topography formed of three mounds that incorporate seating, allowing a multitude of community-focused experiences: dynamic, spontaneous and collective. Staggered tiered seating within the pavilion permits a range of dynamic collaborations and viewer perspectives. The fragmented interior creates a hybrid environment providing a sense of unity with the landscape.

The design and location of the pavilion invite citizens to become more engaged with their own urban landscape and the urban challenges facing our cities and regions while connecting and engaging with their city. The MPavilion 2018/19 season was the largest program to date, stretching from October to February. Events were spread across a number of themes inspired by Carme Pinós’ philosophy and the community focus of the MPavilion project, including: building resilient communities, inclusivity, women in leadership, landscape and nature, visual languages—fashion and architecture, design and science. MPavilion 2018 welcomed more than 133,000 visitors and held 520 free events.

Pinós designed the MPavilion in alignment with her design ethos and deeply philosophical approach to architecture. The design incorporates floating planes resting at angles on elevated points within the park, rooting the pavilion in its natural surroundings without scarring the earth. The structure’s inter-connected folds dissolve the lines between architecture and urbanism and embrace the natural surroundings of the gardens. Commenting on her design, Carme Pinós said: “MPavilion 2018 is a place for people to experience with all their senses—to establish a relationship with nature, but also a space for social activities and connections. Whenever I can, I design places where movements and routes intersect and exchange, spaces where people identify as part of a community, but also feel they belong to universality.” The design has inspired MPavilion’s program themes which include: building communities, fostering inclusive cities, women in leadership, visual languages: fashion and architecture, regional contexts, and landscape and nature. Pinós seeks fragmentation in order to achieve continuity, so that the volumes of materials do not impose themselves on the people interacting with the space or on the natural surroundings.