David Gianotten and Rem Koolhaas’s MPavilion. Picture: Aaron Francis.
Tim Dodd, MPavilion goes to Monash Uni to incubate creativity, The Australian, 7 March 2018
MPavilion, the pop-up amphitheatre that was used for 133 days this past summer in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens, has found a new home at Monash University.
After being dismantled a couple of weeks ago the structure, designed by international “starchitects” Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten from Netherlands-based firm OMA, is being re-erected near the front entrance of the Clayton campus.
Monash vice-chancellor Margaret Gardner said it would be “an exciting addition to the diverse array of performance, teaching and learning spaces available” at the university.
At its summer home the MPavilion was visited by more than 117,000 people, with 477 free events featuring artists, musicians, dancers, scientists, designers and architects.
This is the fourth summer that an MPavilion has been erected as a temporary structure for public events at Queen Victoria Gardens, funded by fashion retailer and philanthropist Naomi Milgrom through her foundation.
Each one has been given to a Melbourne institution, with the first three going to the Hellenic Museum, Docklands Park and Melbourne Zoo, respectively.
This year Koolhaas and Gianotten requested that it be located permanently at a university.
Ms Milgrom said the fourth MPavilion’s new position at Monash University would ensure the structure would “continue to be a dynamic incubator, where ideas about architecture, design and creativity are encouraged and nurtured”.
