Temporary architecture brings joy to Melbourne’s summer
Melbourne celebrates the arrival of not one, but two new temporary pavilions: the 2021 MPavilion and the annual National Gallery of Victoria Architecture Commission
Melbourne’s vibrant architecture scene has been bolstered by the opening of two joyful, temporary architecture projects this week. Get ready to welcome the 2021 MPavilion and the Architecture Commission by the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV). Here, colour and playfulness rule.
Melbourne’s two new temporary architecture pavilions
MPavilion
The annual MPavilion commission by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation is back after last year’s hiatus in Queen Victoria Gardens, adjacent to Melbourne Arts Precinct. The design by Venice-based MAP studio is composed of a 6m-tall grid that floats on prefabricated concrete supports and holds a set of mirrored aluminium panels to reflect light, as well as provide glimpses of other visitors and the pavilion’s bright yellow floor.
Named The Lightcatcher, the pavilion functions as a stage around which people will gather to attend free performances, talks, workshops and children’s activities programmed over the summer months. When the pavilion closes in April 2022 it will be gifted to the state and relocated to a permanent home somewhere in Victoria, joining previous MPavilions that occupy a variety of sites from Docklands to Melbourne Zoo.
NGV Architecture Commission
Across the road from MPavilion, NGV has revealed its annual Architecture Commission in its sculpture garden. Entitled Pond[er], the design by architecture firm Taylor Knights in collaboration with artist James Carey is centred on a bright pink pond – wrapping around Henry Moore’s 1958 sculpture Draped Seated Woman – and beds of Australian wildflowers, designed with Ben Scott Garden Design to bloom at different times as the seasons change.
The striking pink hue is a reference to Victoria’s inland salt lakes. While visitors to the architectural garden are encouraged to wade through the pond, which holds about 45,000 litres of water, and take pleasure in this temporary oasis, the designers’ intention is for people to also consider the scarcity and political implications of water. According to the design team, ‘the way in which we have mismanaged and misused our land and water systems throughout Australia has seen a dramatic increase in extreme weather events, unprecedented drought, rising temperatures and ocean levels, and more recently, catastrophic bushfires'.
After the installation is removed, in October 2022, the materials used in its construction are to be distributed and reused by various Landcare, Indigenous, and community groups.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Elias Redstone is Wallpaper’s Australia editor and an acclaimed arts leader. He is the founder and artistic director of Photo Australia / PHOTO International Festival of Photography, Melbourne. Previously, Elias was senior curator of The Architecture Foundation, London. He has curated exhibitions for museums and galleries internationally including Barbican Art Gallery, London; Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York; and Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne. His book Shooting Space: Architecture in Contemporary Photography is published by Phaidon.
-
The best design-led cocktail shakers
If you like your drinks shaken not stirred, these are the best cocktail shakers to take your mixology skills to the next level
By Rosie Conroy Published
-
Tech Editor, Jonathan Bell, selects six new and notable Bluetooth speaker designs, big, small and illuminating
These six wireless speakers signal new creative partnerships and innovative tech approaches in a variety of scales and styles
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
As London’s V&A spotlights Mughal-era design, Santi Jewels tells of its enduring relevance
‘The Great Mughals: Art, Architecture and Opulence’ is about to open at London’s V&A. Here, Mughal jewellery expert and Santi Jewels founder Krishna Choudhary tells us of the influence the dynasty holds today
By Hannah Silver Published
-
A Melbourne family home draws on classic modernism to create a pavilion in the landscape
This Melbourne family home by Vibe Design Group was inspired by midcentury design and shaped to be an extension of its verdant site
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Tour Clifton House, an airy Bondi family home, brimming with natural light and foliage
Clifton House by Anthony Gill Architects is a North Bondi home using an abundance of vegetation to create a slice of privacy within the suburbs
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Tour this compact Melbourne home, where a small footprint is big on efficiency and experimentation
Northcote House is designed by architects David Leggett and Paul Loh as their own home in Melbourne
By Stephen Crafti Published
-
Bridging Boyd is the rebirth of a modernist Melbourne home
Bridging Boyd by Jolson is a modernist Melbourne home reimagined for the 21st century
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This Sydney house is a family's stylish seaside sanctuary
This Sydney house is a young family's suburban dream come true thanks to Alexandra Kidd Interior Design and Rich Carr Architects
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024: meet the practices
In the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024, our latest guide to exciting, emerging practices from around the world, 20 young studios show off their projects and passion
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Peek inside this secluded rural Australian retreat by Alexander Symes, in sync with nature
Based in Sydney, Alexander Symes Architect joins the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
By Tianna Williams Published
-
At the heart of Sydney Metro’s expanded Central Station lies a spectacular new public space
The new extension to the Sydney Metro, designed by Woods Bagot in collaboration with John McAslan + Partners, can now be accessed beneath its monumental roof structure above the city’s historic Central Station
By Jonathan Bell Published