The City of Melbourne has extended public access to the acclaimed public structure until 2030. 

Japanese designer Tadao Ando, a Pritzker Prize Laureate, revered for his unique approach to architecture, which sculpts natural light in captivating forms, opened the MPavilion in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens in November 2023. 

Since then, it has hosted hundreds of events and upwards of 300,000 visitors. The decision to keep MPavilion open follows a petition backed by 2500 signatories calling for it to remain in place beyond the five-month installation period.

In addition, 60 industry letters were directed toward the initiative, with an excess of 100 artist and collaborator signatures rallying behind the reopening efforts. 

The inviting, elegant design is surrounding by lush trees and the gleaming towers of the nearby Melbourne CBD

An eternal landscape in the heart of Melbourne

The focus point of pronounced global acclaim, Ando’s MPavilion received ten international design awards. The initial design brief was born of a desire to identify, within the surrounding gardens, “a scene of eternity,” according to Ando. 

“Eternal, not in material or structure, but in the memory of a landscape that will continue to live in people’s hearts,” he said.

The MPavilion project has been running since 2014, with a mission to provide unique spaces for urban and civic architecture projects. The location for each MPavilion, under the invitation of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, has been the lush expanse of public greenspace in Queen Victoria Gardens, along Melbourne’s central avenue of St. Kilda Road. 

Each new MPavilion hosts a five-month design festival of free events and arts showcases. Ando’s distinct place within this globe-spanning design initiative is known internally as MPavilion 10.

He is also the seventh international architect to have his inaugural Australia-based design work commissioned by MPavilion. The design is Ando’s only constructed work in the Southern Hemisphere.

Gentle slopes of the encompassing grass banks strike a pleasing contrast of the structure’s strong linear design

An artistic centrepiece for Victoria

The Naomi Milgrom Foundation will remain the sole custodian of MPavilion 10 throughout its five-year extension period. The organisation endeavours to provide cost-free cultural programming to the public, as well as free-of-charge maintenance services up until 2030. 

Naomi Milgrom Foundation founder and MPavilion commissioner Naomi Milgrom MC expressed her gratitude at the City of Melbourne’s decision to extend the Melbourne MPavilion’s public lifespan.  

“We would like to thank the thousands from across Australia and globally who added their name in support to keep this pavilion in the gardens for longer,” Milgrom said. “MPavilion will continue to be a place for the architecture, design, arts and creative communities and all Melburnians.”

Subtle copper-hued lighting creates gentle ambient illumination throughout the structure

The site has been host to a diverse range of public activities and events, from yoga classes at dawn to community gatherings, making it the most-visited MPavilion in the initiative’s 11-year history. 

The site achieves the design philosophy of its creator: “Architecture is not only about buildings,” Ando says, “it is about creating spaces for people and nature to coexist.” 

Photography by Pier Carthew.

Related: Pritzker Prize winner Tadao Ando to design MPavilion 2023