Australia's only Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate, Glenn Murcutt has revealed design for the 2019 MPavilion, with refined and minimal structure which will make significant contribution to climate-responsive architecture. Murcutt's pavilion is the sixth temporary structure in ongoing series of the MPavilion this year.

Celebrating the fiftieth year of Murcutt’s globally influential design practice, MPavilion 2019 will be built in the Queen Victoria Gardens. MPavilion is an annual architectural commissions initiated in 2014 by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation - an organisation set up by businesswoman and philanthropist Naomi Milgrom, and supported by City of Melbourne, State Government of Victoria through Creative Victoria, and ANZ.

Video by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation

Every year the Naomi Milgrom Foundation commissions an outstanding architect to design a pavilion for the Queen Victoria Gardens, in the centre of Melbourne’s Southbank Arts Precinct. This year's MPavilion will open to the public on Thursday 14 November 2019 until Sunday 22 March 2020.

MPavilion 2019 is designed with Murcutt’s longstanding interest in buildings that make efficient use of site and climatic conditions. Murcutt's design prioritizes a view of the river and city skyline with its simple tent-like structure. 

The MPavilion consists of a climate responsive rectangular plan with steel frames supporting wing-like trusses covered in tensioned translucent fabric, resulting in a buoyant white roof that will be lit from within at night. The result will be a sleek and adaptable MPavilion, resting on the landscape.

Murcutt's sketch-1 for the 2019 MPavilion

"The MPavilion design is a crisp white building that will be lit at night like a lantern, giving the pavilion a feeling of lightness. For me it was central to establish a sense of ‘place’ for the visitors—to view from within the building, the gardens, the river, and the city," said Glenn Murcutt AO. 

The architect is influenced by a memory of using a light aircraft’s wing as a temporary shade during a trip to Mexico to visit the Yaxchilán ruins. Murcutt’s MPavilion makes use of a membrane lined curved roof and aileron-like flaps to allow for shade and rain pathways. 

Open along the north and south elevations, the MPavilion’s south elevation is fitted with retractable fabric blinds to provide a level of wind protection when required. At each end of the MPavilion there are alcoves, membrane lined externally, and timber-slat pivot doors internally.

Murcutt's sketch-2 for the 2019 MPavilion

"Glenn’s very thoughtfully considered MPavilion reflects everything the world has come to love and appreciate about his distinctly Australian design practice over fifty years. I’m excited to bring a new Glenn Murcutt design to life for the community to share," said Naomi Milgrom AO, founder of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

Glenn is Australia’s most famous architect and he is the only Australian recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2002, and is internationally recognised for environmentally sensitive and responsible designs with a distinctive Australian character.

Murcutt's detail sketch for the 2019 MPavilion

Glenn’s most significant works include the Australian Islamic Centre in Newport, Victoria, undertaken in collaboration with architect Hakan Elevli, Australian Islamic Center in Melbourne, the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre at Riversdale, New South Wales, designed with architects Wendy Lewin and Reg Lark; the Simpson-Lee House, Mount Wilson, New South Wales, and the Marie Short House, North Coast, New South Wales.

All images courtesy of MPavilion

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