MPavilion

Carme Pinós is a major influence on global architecture through her sharp and poetic designs and humanistic design philosophy, leading urgent conversations about public architecture, social housing and urban refurbishment. She joined journalist and author Virginia Trioli in conversation with Naomi Milgrom AO, founder of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, the organisation that commissions the architect...

Diversity has become a catchcry, a battle cry and an umbrella term for opportunity and access—but is it holding us back? Does the framing of diversity in conversations about our cities and institutions continue to keep minorities and the underprivileged at the margins? How can we move beyond a focus on otherness, and to where do we move? As political and economic forces create rapidly changing pop...

Diversity has become a catchcry, a battle cry and an umbrella term for opportunity and access—but is it holding us back? Does the framing of diversity in conversations about our cities and institutions continue to keep minorities and the underprivileged at the margins? How can we move beyond a focus on otherness, and to where do we move? As political and economic forces create rapidly changing pop...

Queer music in Australia is arguably louder and prouder in 2018 than it has ever been—but this modern strength and visibility did not grow out of a vacuum. From singular artists in the ’50s and ’60s to women’s music groups in the ’70s, plus dance hedonism in the ’80s, ’90s and beyond, Australia has a long and rich—but often neglected—history of openly queer music. This panel discussion at MPavilio...

At a time when Melbourne is undergoing the greatest change since the Gold Rush, we joined Kim Dovey, Rob Adams and Ron Jones at MPavilion to launch their new book Urban Choreography: Central Melbourne, 1985– (Melbourne University Publishing, 2018). A collective retrospective on the incremental transformation of central Melbourne from the mid-1980s onwards, Urban Choreography documents and discusse...

MPavilion 2017 attracted international acclaim as one of the top civic spaces in the world today. Designed by Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten of OMA, MPavilion 2017 was named by Wallpaper* as one of the top buildings that shaped culture in 2017. In an interview with Dezeen, Rem Koolhaas said, “We are happy that MPavilion can perform as a theatre of debate around the city and its development, and...

Australian artist Keg De Souza creates site- and situation-specific projects with people. With an emphasis on knowledge exchange, Keg’s investigation of social and spatial environments is influenced by her formal training in architecture and experiences of radical spaces through squatting and organising. Keg’s work on an alternative mapping project of Shepparton was formed as part of the MPavilion...

How are women represented in the media and what are the alternatives? Panellists Nayuka Gorrie, a Kurnai/Gunai, Gunditjmara, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman who writes on Black politics, queerness and feminism; Brigid Delaney, journalist, author and features editor of Guardian Australia; Natalie Thomas, artist, writer and fierce advocate for the participation of woman in the arts; and Deb Verhoeve...

All urban environmental research, policy and practices occur on and in Aboriginal Country. A key challenge for urban practitioners and researchers is to respond meaningfully to the expectations, rights and aspirations of Indigenous people and communities in cities. Presented by Indigenous researchers and advisory members of the National Environmental Science Program, this panel discussion explored...

This panel discussion was the third and final instalment this MPavilion season of Open Journal‘s popular and thought-provoking series High Density Happiness. It looked at property ownership alternatives, from enforced re-sale restrictions in Brunswick’s Nightingale development, to more complex shared ownership structures and co-housing. The panel explored whether a new ownership framework could be...

What does 2018 hold for contemporary arts? Let’s start this new year the right way. The Australian Parliament commences its new year on the week beginning Monday 5 February, with both Houses sitting for four days. At the same time, artists across Australia are showing work in independent and state-owned galleries; in public and unconventional spaces; and in studios and online. Each one of these ex...

Everyone loves coffee, but what's the science behind the perfect morning cuppa? This special MMeets event, presented by La Trobe University, brought together a physicist (Dr David Hoxley) and a coffee scientist (Dr Monika Fekete) to explore what makes coffee taste the way it does. Audience members were invited to 'pour over' the science of coffee in this interactive morning workshop, complete with...

Since 2003, Architects for Peace have pioneered a mission of sustainable urban development based on social justice, solidarity, respect and peace. Listen as they lead this talk about the history and importance of democratic public spaces in urban environments, examining the necessity of places that are free and open to all members of the public and how such spaces foster a sense of community—criti...

Narrative is a potent source for critical reflection and the dissemination of alternative knowledge and awareness. Narrative possesses a powerful capacity to affect change. And though fiction has been embraced within wider design communities, it continues to hold a peripheral position within mainstream architectural teaching and practice. This one-of-a-kind MTalks explores the role of architecture...

PLEASE NOTE: This recording was cut short and is incomplete. It has been edited. Your walls can talk, so what are they saying to your body and mind? Melbourne design, architecture and medicine collided in this exciting event that looked beyond functional approaches to consider health and wellbeing. Join a panel of medical and design experts as they explore the power of design in our devices and li...

Swimming, floating, playing in the Yarra River (Birrarung)? Nope, we’re not joking—currently in Melbourne, a number of community-led projects are working hard to activate the Yarra’s inner-city reaches. Though each of the projects are different, they all have one aim in common: to restore the river so it can be used for on- and in-water activities that can a) benefit health and wellbeing, b) drive...

Swimming, floating, playing in the Yarra River (Birrarung)? Nope, we’re not joking—currently in Melbourne, a number of community-led projects are working hard to activate the Yarra’s inner-city reaches. Though each of the projects are different, they all have one aim in common: to restore the river so it can be used for on- and in-water activities that can a) benefit health and wellbeing, b) drive...

Philosopher? Furniture designer? City planner? Generally bored and confused by stuff? This extra-special MMeets is for you. Welcome to the Flat Pack Philosophy Circle: an active thinking space that aims to create an environment in which we can safely engage in conversation and ask questions in the spirit of wisdom, free from the stylised antagonism modelled by our politicians and usual talking hea...

Author, illustrator and founder of Melbournestyle, Maree Coote reads from Robyn Boid: Architect, her most recent illustrated book. Robyn Boid: Architect tells the story of a small, dedicated bird who loves to build nests and dreams of becoming an architect. A gentle introduction to the world of architecture, kids will love learning about different architectural shapes and what makes good design, w...

Signal is a creative studio that provides emerging and established artists with opportunities and spaces for exploration, creation and showcasing. In this MTalks, hear the Signal Young Curators as they drop by MPavilion to chat with artists from the Signal Summer Program about their inspirations, creative processes and careers: featuring a dizzying bunch of artists including Yandell Walton, Amy Jo...

Beekeeper and artist Nic Dowse is joined by artist Zhu Ohmu, both of multi-disciplinary Honey Fingers Collective, for an MTalks that explores our human relationship with nature. This discussion explores how urban beekeeping—and making things like insect hotels, swarm traps, possum boxes and bee hives—can teach us new ways to think about non-human beings, urban ecologies, urban food webs and the ci...

In January 2018, Soft Baroque—a.k.a. London-based creative duo Saša Štucin and Nicholas Gardner—brought their tentacular manipulations of interior design, furniture design and visual art to MPavilion with Foamy Feeling, an installation created specifically for Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten / OMA’s amphitheatre-inspired MPavilion 2017. In this one-off artist talk, Saša and Nicholas appeared in c...

Common Good is a major design exhibition opening in March 2018 at the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney. The exhibition explores the diversity of design practice from the Asia-Pacific region, through an expansive selection of innovative projects including material explorations, contemporary craft, video game design, speculative practice and large-scale architectural interventions. In t...

Having a baby changes your perception of the city. Suddenly, things become less accessible: trams are difficult to lift a pram into, there’s no space in your favourite cafe to change a nappy and events happen at night while you soothe your baby to sleep—and so the trials of new parenthood are mostly screened off from public view. (Some public institutions do offer parenting facilities, but they’re...

With Trump leading a war on reality in the United States, Pauline Hanson staging #BurqaGate closer to home, and Tony Abbott suggesting he could be drafted back into leadership, the volatile and often unthinkable year of 2017 has been one for the history books. Join esteemed journalist and chief political correspondent for The Conversation, Michelle Grattan, and The Conversation‘s politics editor,...