'Origami'-like design revealed for 2018 MPavilion
Barcelona-based architect Carme Pinós of Estudio Carme Pinós is behind the design for the 2018 MPavilion in Melbourne, which is envisioned as a "sensorial summer experience" within Queen Victoria Gardens.
The MPavilion is a temporary structure that, taking its inspiration from London's Serpentine Gallery, opens to the public each year in Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens. The project got its start in 2014 and is now in its fifth year.
The just-revealed 2018 pavilion will feature a sharp, sculptural design of the pavilion and an open geometric configuration, assembled in two halves supported by a central steel portal frame. Two surfaces of timber latticework will intersect to form the pavilion's roof, while the topography will be altered to create three mounds that incorporate seating, allowing for a wide variety of community-focused experiences.
The pavilion's interconnected shapes are said to bring to mind folded materials such as origami. Elsewhere, floating planes will rest at angles on elevated points within the park, echoing the pavilion's design and connecting the MPavilion to the city.
Pinós, whose design philosophy advocates "building communities, inclusivity and universal connection," hopes to create an open civic space encouraging interaction and discourse.
"MPavilion 2018 is a place for people to experience with all their senses -- to establish a relationship with nature, but also a space for social activities and connections," she said of her design. "Whenever I can, I design places where movements and routes intersect and exchange, spaces where people identify as part of a community, but also feel they belong to universality."
The MPavilion team is currently inviting the public to submit expressions of interest to become part of the season's program, with submissions welcome from the fields of design, dance, music, theater and performing arts, and beyond.
From October 8, 2018 to February 3, 2019, MPavilion will host more than 400 free events, talks, workshops, performances, installations and more, with plans to develop an increased number of programs from public proposals this year.
