The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has announced the commission for the sixth annual MPavilion has been awarded to Pritzker Prize-winning Australian architect Glenn Murcutt AO.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Glenn Murcutt,” said Naomi Milgrom AO, founder of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation. “He’s been at the forefront of contemporary architecture for decades with groundbreaking designs that are sensitive to landscape and cross-cultural collaboration.
“Quintessentially Australian and ahead of his time, Glenn’s thoughtfulness about people, place making and the environment continues to inspire us all.”
The announcement comes as MPavilion 2018, designed by Barcelona’s Carme Pinós of Estudio Carme Pinós closed on Sunday 17 February, having received an overwhelming public response with 133,000+ visitors and 520 free events over 139 days.
“It’s extraordinary what Naomi has achieved with MPavilion,” said Glenn Murcutt. “She’s one of the great people in this country for supporting the arts, and more than just art but architecture, with a special understanding of city life. MPavilion is an interesting and assiduous project, and I’m honoured to be commissioned.”
Arguably Australia’s most recognised architect, Murcutt is a recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize and is internationally respected for his environmentally sensitive, distinctly Australian architecture. Glenn has received the Alvar Aalto Medal, the Australian Institute of Architects and the American Institute of Architects Gold Medals and is highly regarded as a teacher and commentator.
His most significant works include the Australian Islamic Centre, Melbourne undertaken in equal collaboration with architect Hakan Elevli, the Arthur and Yvonne Boyd Education Centre Riversdale Shoalhaven NSW designed equally with architects Wendy Lewin and Reg Lark, the Simpson-Lee House, Mt Wilson NSW, and the Marie Short House, North Coast NSW.
The MPavilion 2018/19 program season from 9 October 2018 until 17 February 2019, was the largest to date. Events were spread across a number of themes inspired by Carme Pinós, including: building resilient communities, inclusivity, women in leadership, landscape and nature, visual languages – fashion and architecture, and design and science.
The season engaged more than 500 collaborators including cultural institutions, architects, artists, musicians, dancers, choreographers, scientists and designers to develop the four-month free cultural program. This year’s program contributed to numerous festivals and public events, including Melbourne Festival, Melbourne Music Week, Multicultural Arts Victoria’s Mapping Melbourne and more.
International guests included architects Carme Pinós, Carlo Ratti and Sir Peter Cook; former Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota; Google USA director of user experience Elizabeth Churchill; 10th Berlin Biennale curator Gabi Ngcobo; V&A curators Marie Foulston (vigeogames) and Rory Hyde (contemporary architecture and urbanism); Future Laboratory’s Chris Sanderson; Singapore’s SA Collective; and Hyphen-Labs co-founders Ece Tankal and Carmen Aguilar Wedge.
In 2018, MPavilion was awarded the Melbourne Award by the City of Melbourne for its ‘contribution to profile by a community organisation’. It was also awarded by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) the Victorian Landscape Architecture Award.
MPavilion is Australia’s leading architecture commission and design event, made possible through the vision of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and Australian philanthropist Naomi Milgrom AO. MPavilion is a philanthropic success story that has seen government, business and private sectors collaborate to bring an important new civic space to Melbourne with strong public, industry and educational components.
MPavilion 2019/20 will open free to the public on 12 November 2019 until 15 March 2020. For more information, visit: www.mpavilion.org for details.
Image: Glenn Murcutt AO and Naomi Milgrom AO – photo by John Betts