Bangkok-based architecture studio all(zone) and MPavilion have unveiled design for the ninth MPavilion, aiming to push the boundaries of materials in the canopied, bulbous-formed installation. 

The design of MPavilion is led by internationally-acclaimed architect and all(zone) Design Director Rachaporn Choochuey and the new pavilion is a striking, orange-colored canopied structure.

The MPavilion will be opened to the public in Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens from Thursday 17 November 2022.

As the designers claim, this year's pavilion has emerged as a radical experimental concept playing with a mixture of materials and forms which will be used for the first time in Australia.

The studio created a unique and stimulating space for people to interact with MPavilion’s thought-provoking and diverse program, heading into its ninth season as a pivotal part of the city’s cultural calendar. 

"MPavilion will require audiences to think more deeply about different ways of using materials"

"We’re so excited to work with all(zone) and Rachaporn. Her unique vision rethinks how design can impact our ways of living and the environment, and her work will require audiences to think more deeply about different ways of using materials in a sustainable future," said Naomi Milgrom, founder of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

"MPavilion will explore the potential of architecture to embrace a lighter and more casual spirit"

"After being confined for such a long time, we began the project with the idea of celebrating ‘outdoor living’. We visualised rays of light flickering through layers of leaves that give a very relaxing ambience—like being under a big tree," said Rachaporn Choochuey, Design Director of all(zone). 

"We wanted MPavilion to be a place where people could meet, enjoy and live in the moment freely. In a world where we increasingly encounter a shortage of resources and ever-changing social conditions, the lifespan of architecture in relation to its materiality should be reinvestigated." 

"The intent of our design for MPavilion is to explore the potential of architecture to embrace a lighter and more casual spirit, and become even more sustainable and engaging," she added.

The MPavilion will be made from layers of bespoke, coloured nets and architectural fabrics with a waterproof membrane which is commonly seen in stadiums. 

The membrane layer is a cutting-edge lightweight mesh produced by French manufacturer Serge Ferrari. As explained by the team, the material is "as transparent as glass but ten times lighter." 

Proposing a barely-visible mesh, this material is being used for the first time in Australia, while allowing light and colour to shine through the MPavilion. It also helps keeping the structure weather-proof and minimising its impact on the environment.

all(zone) is closely working with specialist engineering consultancy TENSYS worked with all(zone) and US-based engineering firm AECOM to apply the innovative tensile membrane to the MPavilion’s design.

"The design of MPavilion will require pushing the limits of the physically and technologically possible"

"We’ve worked with Rapachorn and her team in developing the canopy material and design, transforming ideas into tangible reality," said Peter Lim, Director of TENSYS.

"This has meant creating a structural system that is light, strong and able to resist the environmental forces of wind and rain, while not compromising the integrity of Rapachorn’s creative vision."

"Such efforts required pushing the limits of the physically and technologically possible, reimagining materials from across the globe in new and innovative ways," Lim added.

"Our goal with MPavilion has always been to create an enduring space for people to think and imagine the impact architecture and design can have on one’s life. More than ever we need fresh ideas that force us to be brave!," Milgrom added. 

At the close of the season, all(zone)’s MPavilion 2022 will be relocated to a permanent home to be used by the community, and will be the eighth MPavilion gifted to the public by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

Leanne Zilka, who is lecturer at RMIT University in School of Architecture and Urban Design and Principal at ZILKA Studio, has worked with Rachaporn Choochuey on the project to "help translate the studio's design into a Melbourne context where there is a different fabrication, material and regulatory climate."

"The AllZone MPavilion pushes material logic and expression beyond what we are familiar with in Architecture. It is, in many ways, a counter-intuitive Pavilion that is not made up of rigid surfaces or expected materials but fabrics that move and be active in the creation of an environment for the public to enjoy," said Leanne Zilka. 

"All the MPavilions have challenged our thinking about pubic space through a focus on urban, geometry, craft, program or construction and the 2022 MPavilion is no different." 

"It will challenge our idea of what shelter is and how it can play a part in the public space it is defining. It doesn’t seek to be a neutral weather protector but rather a facilitator of public joy that will be present in the rich program that it houses through the play of light and shadow on the space below," added Zilka.

Born in Bangkok, Rachaporn Choochuey received her Bachelor's Degree in Architecture from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, a M.S.AAD. from Columbia University and Ph.D. in Architecture History from The University of Tokyo.

Starting in 2022, she will be Louis I. Kahn Assistant Visiting Professor at Yale University.

Previously, Amanda Levete designed the 2015 MPavilion with a forest canopy, Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of OMA designed a "performative" theater-like MPavilion in 2017. 

All images courtesy Naomi Milgrom Foundation.

> via MPavilion 

all(zone) Melbourne MPavilion pavilion