Overview
Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens are set to score a crisp, white new addition, when this year's MPavilion winner is erected come November. A minimalist design by celebrated architect Glenn Murcutt AO has been chosen as the annual commission's 2019 champion.
It marks the sixth MPavilion in the design series, which sees a new temporary structure erected in the inner-city garden each spring.
As Australia's only Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate, Murcutt boasts some serious design skills, with a special knack for creating buildings that make efficient use of their site and climatic conditions. Some buildings of his you may be familiar with include Newport's modern Australian Islamic Centre, the Berowra Waters Inn in NSW and the Bowali Visitor Information Centre in Kakadu National Park.
Australian Islamic Centre by Anthony Browell
For his MPavilion, Murcott designed a rectangular structure with a translucent roof fabric stretched across wing-like trusses. Its curved top is lit from within like a lantern, while two open sides offer views of the city skyline and the Yarra. According to Murcutt, the understated MPavilion was inspired by a sleek aircraft wing he once sheltered himself under on a trip to Mexico, and plays to his own well-known motto of 'touch the earth lightly'.
The structure will make its home in Queen Victoria Gardens across summer. During its residency, it'll be used as a 'design and cultural laboratory', playing host to a diverse program of workshops, talks, performances and installations. We'll let you know when they're announced.
Murcutt's MPavilion will be open to the public between November 14, 2019, and March 22, 2020 inside Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens. For more info, visit mpavilion.org.