First Look: Tadao Ando’s MPavilion Design Revealed

The design for MPavilion 10 commissioned from Pritzker Prize-winner Tadao Ando of Japan has been revealed.

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, according to the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, which commissioned the work.

MPavilion 10 will open in Melbourne this summer, marking the start of an annual five-month design festival of free events in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens.

This will be the 10th MPavilion festival, which has grown to become one of Australia’s most-visited and impactful festivals, attracting more than 350,000 people in 2022, organisers said.

Conceived as a new meeting place within Melbourne’s Arts Precinct, Ando’s design for MPavilion “encapsulates his desire to create a memorable structure that responds directly to the gardens”

MPavilion 10 features a large canopy—a 14.4m aluminium-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.

“The design began with a desire to create a sense of eternity within Melbourne’s garden oasis,” Ando said.

“I wanted to create an experience that will last forever in the hearts of all who visit. I imagined an architecture of emptiness, that lets light and breeze enter and breathe life into it.”

Naomi Milgrom AC, commissioner of MPavilion said Ando’s architecture “is remarkable because it radically affects the way we perceive the world  around us.”

Eminent local 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 Ando, the construction of MPavilion 10 is a significant global collaboration between Japanese and Australian architects, engineers and builders.

Ando’s office is in Osaka, a sister city of Melbourne.