Past MPavilions: Where are they now?

Since 2014, nine temporary MPavilions have been commissioned by leading architects in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens, designed by renowned architects including OMA, Glenn Murcutt, and Carme Pinós. From a pavilion that blooms like a flower each day to a tranquil reinterpretation of a Japanese walled garden, these innovative structures have left a lasting legacy beyond their original season.

Eight of the MPavilions have found second homes, gifted to institutions such as Melbourne Zoo and the Hellenic Museum, where they continue to inspire and engage new audiences.

The Design
Outback sheds, verandas and the symmetry of classical Greek design inspired the inaugural MPavilion designed by Australian architect Sean Godsell. A simple steel structure with a glazed roof, it features a fully automated outer skin that opens and closes on pneumatic arms – providing shade, shelter and filtering the harsh Australian sun. Its perforated aluminium exterior reflects light, animating the building. ‘Conceived as architecture that blooms like a flower each day and opens to its audience, it also has a mysterious box-like quality at night,’ said Godsell.

The Architect
Sean Godsell, Sean Godsell Architects (Melbourne, Australia)

Where is it now?
Hellenic Museum, 280 William Street, Melbourne

MPavilion 2014 was gifted to the City of Melbourne and relocated to the Hellenic Museum. The Hellenic Museum celebrates Greek culture, aligned with one of the central inspirations for Sean Godsell’s design. It has been modified due to space constraints of this location.

The Design
Inspired by the Licuala Palm of northern Queensland, MPavilion 2015 creates a delicate canopy that echoes the palm’s fan-like leaves. Using synthetic materials, the pavilion mimics a natural forest sanctuary under which people can gather, relax and socialise. Carbon fibre columns sway with the wind, while translucent fibreglass roof panels filter daylight to recreate the dappled light one experiences beneath a natural canopy. At night, concealed lighting and speakers transform the space into a glowing, immersive environment.

The Architect
Amanda Levete, AL_A (London, UK)

Where is the pavilion now?
770 Collins Street, Docklands Park

Gifted to the City of Melbourne, the pavilion was relocated to Docklands Park with the open, green site complementing the pavilion’s forest-inspired concept.

The Design
MPavilion 2016 reflects deep engagement with place, materials and intercultural understanding. Constructed from 7 kilometres of bamboo, 26 kilometres of rope, and 50 tonnes of stone, the pavilion is a dynamic structure measuring 12 metres in height, with an earthen roof that pays homage to the Australian landscape. An aperture at the centre of the roof symbolises the connection of the earth to the sky, while below sits a golden well that represents the importance of water to place and community. An elaborate ‘tazia’ entrance tower, commonly used in Indian ceremonies, sits next to the pavilion as a welcoming gesture.

The Architect
Bijoy Jain, Studio Mumbai  (Mumbai, India) 

Where is the pavilion now?
Melbourne Zoo
Elliott Avenue, Parkville

Renamed the MPavilion at Melbourne Zoo, the pavilion now serves as a year-round gathering space hosting school holiday programs, book launches, and events for families, children and animal-lovers alike.

The Design
Taking its cues from the ancient amphitheatre, MPavilion 2017 blurs the lines between inside and outside, and between audience and performer, through a skilful yet empathetic manipulation of the surrounding landscape. OMA’s pavilion design creates a flexible civic space that can function as a stage, auditorium or playground. Embraced by a landscaped hill of indigenous plants, it is defined by two tiered grandstands—one fixed, the other movable. The rotating grandstand encourages interaction from all angles and allows multiple configurations, generating unexpected programming and echoing the ideals of the amphitheatre typology.

The Architects
Rem Koolhaus and David Gianotten, OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

Where is the pavilion now?
Monash University Clayton
26 Ancora Imparo Way, Clayton

The pavilion was gifted to Monash University and is used as a flexible gathering and performance space for students and the broader community.

The Design
MPavilion 2018 reveals a sculptural space that invites interaction between people, design, nature and the city. Designed by Carme Pinós, the pavilion features floating planes of interlocking timber latticework resting at angles, evoking the folded forms of origami. Supported by a central steel portal frame, its geometric structure is assembled in two distinct halves. Landscaped mounds are integrated into the design, providing built-in seating and encouraging dynamic, spontaneous and collective experiences. Dissolving the lines between architecture and urbanism, the pavilion suggests an ease of relationships — material, environmental and human.

The Architect
Carme Pinós, Estudio Carme Pinós (Barcelona, Spain) 

Where is the pavilion now?
Monash University, Peninsula Campus
Moorooduc Highway, Frankston 

MPavilion 2018 was gifted to Monash University and relocated to the coastal Peninsula Campus. Its open design connects with the surrounding landscape and native plant-life and is frequently used by students for club and social events, informal catch ups and academic talks. 

The Design
MPavilion 2019 reflects Pritzker Prize-winning Australian architect Glenn Murcutt’s enduring commitment to environmentally sensitive, distinctly Australian architecture. Prioritising a view of the river and city skyline, the design features a rectangular plan with steel frames supporting wing-like trusses covered in tensioned translucent fabric, creating a buoyant white roof that is lit from within at night. Inspired by a memory of using a light aircraft’s wing as a temporary shade during a trip to Mexico to visit the Yaxchilán ruins, its membrane-lined curved roof and aileron-like flaps provide shade and channel rainwater. Open to the north and south, the south elevation includes retractable fabric blinds for wind protection. At each end of the MPavilion there are alcoves, membrane lined externally, and timber-slat pivot doors internally. 

The Architect
Glenn Murcutt AO (Sydney, Australia)

Where is the pavilion now?
MPavilion Parkville
University Square, Carlton

Renamed MPavilion Parkville, the structure was gifted to the University of Melbourne and opened in 2023, playing host to community events and programming.

The Design
Nicknamed “The Lightcatcher,” MPavilion 2021 was imagined by MAP Studio as “a shimmering device that qualifies itself as an urban lighthouse”. Composed of a reticular steel structure in galvanised and painted tubular profiles that support a set of panels, its mirrored aluminium surfaces reflect colours, movement, and light while also functioning as shade. A modular steel structure forms a 12 x 12 metre grid, supported by sculptural precast concrete columns that also serve as seating. A small circular kiosk acts as service and storage space.

The Architects
MAP Studio led by Francesco Magnani and Traudy Pelzel (Venice, Italy)

Where is the pavilion now?
To be announced. 

The Design
Designed to celebrate being outdoors, the vibrant, textural MPavilion’s standout feature is its ingenious three-layered canopy that explores the potential of fabric and tensile architecture.

The uppermost layer is a brightly coloured fishing net, giving the structure a tactile quality. The middle layer is crafted from an STFE membrane, as transparent as glass but ten times lighter, this weather-proof polyarylate mesh was used for the first time in Australia. The lowermost layer comprises a waffle of colourful fabric that moves with the breeze and creates dappled light, evoking the feeling of resting under trees. 

The Architect
all(zone), led by Rachaporn Choochuey (Bangkok, Thailand) 

Where is the pavilion now?
MPavilion RMIT Brunswick
Dawson Street, Brunswick

MPavilion 2022 was gifted to RMIT University. It was opened in 2024 offering a new place of connection, inspiration, and creative collaboration.

The Design
MPavilion 10 reflects Tadao Ando’s signature use of concrete and geometric forms in dialogue with nature. Conceived as a new meeting place within Melbourne’s cultural and botanic garden precinct, Ando’s design for MPavilion encapsulates his desire to create a memorable structure that responds directly to the park setting. It strives for spatial purity, employing the geometry of circles and squares to create a space in harmony with nature. The design features a striking aluminium disc canopy, a reflecting pool, and openings that frame the city and landscape. Concrete walls partially enclose the space to create a tranquil sanctuary reminiscent of a traditional Japanese walled garden. 

One of Japan’s leading contemporary architects, MPavilion is Tadao Ando’s first—and only—built work in Australia.

The Architect
Tadao Ando, Tadao Ando Architect & Associates (Osaka, Japan)

Where is the pavilion now?
Thanks to strong public support and City of Melbourne approval, MPavilion by Tadao Ando will remain in Queen Victoria Gardens until 2030. Open daily 8am – 6pm.