The City of Melbourne has elected to retain MPavilion 10, designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando and executed by Sean Godsell, in the city’s Queen Victoria Gardens until 2030. The much-anticipated decision comes as the pavilion was slated for removal at the end of this month.
A recent campaign to “Preserve the Pavilion” received over 2,500 signatures from members of the public, including from Pritzker Prize-winning architects Álvaro Siza (1992 laureate), Jean Nouvel (2008 laureate), Eduardo Souto de Moura (2011 laureate), and Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA (2010 laureates).
Foundation founder Naomi Milgrom commented, “We would like to thank the thousands from across Australia and globally who added their name in support to keep this pavilion in the gardens for longer.”
A release from the pavilion’s commissioner, the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, noted that since opening in November 2023, Ando’s pavilion has become the most visited MPavilion to date – welcoming over 300,000 visitors and hundreds of events.
“MPavilion will continue to be a place for the architecture, design, arts and creative communities and all Melburnians,” Milgrom said.
The terms of the extension granted by the City of Melbourne requires that the foundation retain ownership of the pavilion, continue to maintain the structure and deliver cultural programming at no cost to the public until 30 June 2030. In their proposal to the council’s Future Melbourne Committee, the foundation noted they are “proposing to offer cultural grants to enable artists and cultural organisations to use the MPavilion to present free events.”
Reflecting on the approved extension, Tadao Ando noted, “I am honoured that MPavilion will remain in Queen Victoria Gardens as a place for the community to gather and reflect. Architecture is not only about buildings, it is about creating places for people and nature to coexist.”
The pavilion will reopen to the public soon.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
