MELBOURNE.- The Naomi Milgrom Foundation unveiled the design for MPavilion 10, commissioned from Pritzker Prize-winner Tadao Ando of Japan. One of the world’s leading architects, Ando’s design for MPavilion 10 reflects his signature use of striking geometric interventions in nature and his precise, assured use of concrete. MPavilion 10 will open this summer, kicking off the annual five-month design festival of free public programming in Queen Victoria Gardens, located in the centre of Melbourne. This will be the tenth MPavilion festival, which has grown to become one of Australia’s most visited and impactful festivals, attracting more than 350,000 people this past year.

Conceived as a new meeting place within Melbourne’s cultural and botanic garden precinct, Ando’s design for MPavilion encapsulates his desire to create a memorable structure that responds directly to the park setting. It strives for spatial purity, employing the geometry of circles and squares to create a space in harmony with nature. MPavilion 10 features a large canopy, a 14.4-metre aluminum-clad disc resting on a central concrete column. Two offset squares create two entrances that lead to the centre 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 MPavilion's interior. The geometric forms and symmetry are reinforced by an internal arrangement that is half paved, and 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,” shared Tadao Ando. “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’s architecture is remarkable because it radically affects the way we perceive the world around us,” said Naomi Milgrom, commissioner of MPavilion. “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.”

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.

Tadao Ando, born 1941 in Osaka, Japan. Self-taught in architecture. Established Tadao Ando Architect & Associates in 1969. Major works include the Church of the Light, Pulitzer Arts Foundation, and Chichu Art Museum. Awarded the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) Annual Prize for the Row House in Sumiyoshi in 1979, Japan Art Academy Prize in 1993, Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1995, Person of Cultural Merit (Japan) in 2003, International Union of Architects (UIA) Gold Medal in 2005, The Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts Gold Medal in the Arts in 2010, Shimpei Goto Award in 2010, Order of Culture (Japan) in 2010, Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (France) in 2013, Grande Ufficiale dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia (Italy) in 2015, and Isamu Noguchi Award in 2016. Held solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in 1991 and Centre Pompidou in 1993. Taught as a visiting professor at Yale University, Columbia University, and Harvard University. Professor at the University of Tokyo from 1997. Professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo since 2003.

About Naomi Milgrom is an Australian business leader, fashion entrepreneur, philanthropist, and arts patron with an international reputation for initiating and supporting cultural innovation. In 2020, Ms. Milgrom was awarded the nation’s highest honour, Companion to the Order of Australia, for eminent service to the community through philanthropic leadership and support for the promotion of the arts.

The Naomi Milgrom Foundation, established by Ms. Milgrom in 2014, is dedicated to bringing exceptional art, architecture, and design to the lives of all Australians. The not-for-profit organisation pivots on a central purpose—to enhance the presence and influence of creative culture in Australia. This is accomplished through the active support of artists, designers, and creative institutions, the fostering of collaborations between bodies and disciplines, the championing of art and design education, and an overarching commitment to making the arts more accessible to more people across the country. Driven by the conviction that art and design have the power to enrich the lives of individuals, nourish communities, boost economies, and improve the potential of cities. The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has become the gold standard for facilitating projects between public and private sectors.

MPavilion, conceived and created by Naomi Milgrom as an initiative of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation in 2014, is Australia’s most idea-driven commissioning program and an important annual design festival. Over ten years, this ambitious program has commissioned pavilions by leading international architects, each of which has served as a unique public gathering spot in Melbourne’s historic Queen Victoria Gardens. Each MPavilion inspires a diverse range of programming during the free five-month design festival, and related commissions by designers, artists, and other creatives. At the close of each MPavilion, the Naomi Milgrom Foundation gifts the pavilion to the people of Victoria and relocates it to a new, permanent, public home where it continues to be enjoyed by the community as part of a growing collection of public contemporary architecture. In its first ten years, MPavilion has grown to become one of Australia’s most visited and impactful festivals, attracting more than 350,000 people during the 2022-23 season and has helped build Melbourne’s reputation as the Design Capital of Australia.

Since its inception, MPavilion has been shortlisted or won more than 40 national and international design and architecture awards and commendations, including: Winner of Urban Developer Awards for Industry Excellence in the ‘Excellence in Community Engagement’ category (2021); Winner of the Good Design Awards Gold Accolade in the ‘Architectural Design – Urban Design and Public Spaces’ category (2019); Winner of the Australian Institute of Landscape Awards – ‘Landscape Architecture Award’ (2018); Designboom’s ‘World’s Top Temporary Structures for 2016’; and Winner of Detail Magazine’s ‘DETAIL PRIZE 2016’, among many others. Past architects have included: Rachaporn Choochuey, all(zone), Thailand (2022); Francesco Magnani and Traudy Pelzel, MAP Studio, Venice (2021); Glenn Murcutt, Australia (2019); Carme Pinós, Estudio Carme Pinós, Barcelona (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).