Above: Rem Koolhaas. Phot by Fred Ernst.

The Naomi Milgrom Foundation today announced that the commission for the fourth annual MPavilion has been awarded to internationally renowned Dutch firm OMA, with Rem Koolhas and David Gianotten carrying out the design.

MPavilion 2017 will be OMA’s first completed architectural commission in Australia. The announcement comes as MPavilion 2016 closed on Sunday 18 February, having welcomed more than 94,000 visitors and hosted more than 487 free events over 139 days within the temporary architectural pavilion designed by acclaimed Indian architect Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai.

“Rem Koolhaas is one of the world’s most provocative and influential architects,” says Naomi Milgrom AO, Chair of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation who commissioned OMA to design MPavilion. “His contribution to the cultural landscape as an urban thinker together with OMA’s multi-disciplinary approach to architecture reflects MPavilion’s desire to inspire debate about the role of design in building equitable and creative cities.”

David Gianotten and Rem Koolhaas. Photo by Jane Hobsontre.

Rem Koolhaas, founder and David Gianotten, managing partner of OMA expressed their excitement at being chosen to design the structure. “The Naomi Milgrom Foundation’s MPavilion is now a project of international significance and we look forward to contributing to the architectural legacy it has engendered,” they say. “We are excited by the brief of designing a cultural heart for the city – a space of public engagement that will spark creativity and discussion, and that will act as a theatre for ideas.

“MPavilion continues OMA’s history of successful cultural projects – Fondazione Prada in Milan, the Garage Museum in Moscow’s Gorky Park, Casa da Musica in Porto, the Seattle Public Library – all which have become important civic centers and independent spaces for the public.”

OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) is a prolific architecture, design and theoretical studio and was founded by visionary Rem Koolhaas, a Pritzker prize-winning architect. Together with eight partners, Koolhaas heads the work of both OMA and AMO, the research branch of OMA, operating in areas beyond the realm of architecture such as media, politics, renewable energy and fashion.

David Gianotten is OMA’s Managing Partner – Architect and is responsible for the management and growth of OMA worldwide. He is the responsible partner in charge of numerous projects in Asia, Australia and Europe including the New Museum project in Perth and Rotterdam’s new Feyenoord soccer stadium.

OMA has completed large-scale projects in recent years include the Qatar Foundation Headquarters in Doha; Faena District in Miami, London’s Design Museum, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, Fondazione Prada in Milan, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, De Rotterdam and CCTV Headquarters in Beijing.

The 2016 MPavilion, designed by Bijoy Jain,was attended by 94,000 visitors, presented 487 free events with 350 collaborator organisations, and has visited by 30 international guests including Bijoy Jain, Aneesh Pradham, Chris Sanderson, Danh Vo, Julia Kagansky, SHOWStudio, Aric Chen, Chiharu Shiota, Christian Thompson, Sir David Adjaye OBE and Jan Gehl.