MPavilion

BLAKitecture for MPavilion 10 will focus on the custodial relationship to Country as a means of furthering the conversation around First Peoples rights and perspectives around the impact we have to the built environment. Waterways are living ecosystems, with rights and agency. There are existing architectural vernaculars that relate to material, climate, sun, wind, seasonality etc and the Architec...

The Younghusband Woolstore Redevelopment reimagines a 122-year-old redbrick wool store and adjoining network of industrial early 20th-century buildings as a new mixed-use community precinct. Hear from speakers who have worked across all angles of the project, from the architects to the art consultant, as they discuss what will be Melbourne’s largest net-zero carbon, adaptive-reuse precinct.

Join us for a panel talk, which sees international guest speakers Nashin Mahtani and Keller Easterling come together with local urban designer Bree Trevena to discuss rethinking the future of AI, for a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable society.

First Nations speakers across the fields of architecture, planning and design from Australia and around the world will contemplate the good, the bad and the ugly of the built environment in an intimate yarning circle format spearheaded by BLAKitecture founder and ex-Curator Sarah Lynn Rees.

As Australia’s housing crisis deepens, higher-density living will be a crucial part of any effective solution. Building upwards rather than outwards can be more economically and socially beneficial: it makes use of existing services and infrastructure, and helps people live closer to jobs, schools and loved ones. From the people behind Nightingale Housing, learn more about the merits and pitfalls...

Join MPavilion founder and commissioner Naomi Milgrom AC to discuss the process of building the structure with esteemed Australian architect Sean Godsell – Principal of Sean Godsell Architects and Executive Architect of MPavilion 10 in Australia – and the thinkers behind the construction of the pavilion, Project Manager Harry Wynn Pope and Technical Director of AECOM, Nigel Burdon. Hosted by Austr...

We all know green spaces are good for us, but could they offer a cure for loneliness? Tune in to this panel discussion and hear more about how our city-makers (and others) have contributed to a “lonelygenic environment” that makes connection difficult, and hear about ways that could change this. Hear from panelists like epidemiologist Thomas Astell-Burt, who shared research he co-authored with fel...

How can we collectively shift away from widespread experiences of exploitation in the architecture industry to that of a new, empowered and future-proof profession? Architecture and related design fields are professions where ‘passion’ is sometimes used to excuse an exploitative workplace culture. In light of emerging movements around the world to counter the worsening plight of architectural work...

Tune in to hear a panel discussion with regards to speculating our shared futures, the contemplation of possible urban trajectories, and the ways that diverse and creative perspectives intersect to imagine future environments. Learn as we explored new possibilities that emerge from interdisciplinary, artistic and experimental approaches. This was the final event in The Excellent City Series, liste...

Aldo Rossi, in The Architecture of the City, describes the urban artefact as a permanence, “a past we are still experiencing.” Rossi proposes permanence’s present two aspects: “they can be considered as propelling elements or as pathological ones: artefacts that enable us to understand our city in its totality, or artefacts that appear as a series of isolated elements that we can link only tenuous...

What makes good architecture or a good architect? Tune in as we dove behind the scenes of the architectural profession and examined the roles and responsibilities of those who work in the field. Architecture is often judged by aesthetics, but this does not always distinguish one architect from another, nor a good one from a bad one. What does the licensure, the regulations and contractual systems...

Held within a 140-year-old sandstone quarry in Beech Forest within the Otway Ranges, on the traditional lands of the Gadubanud people, Quarry Pedagogies Camp brought together a community of designers and creative professionals to consider the site and its post extractive condition, rehabilitation as an expanded practice and how to foster cultures through place. This inaugural Quarry Pedagogies Cam...

Design thinking shapes responsive, problem-solving, entrepreneurial thinkers and doers who can rise to the challenges and opportunities of complex issues; it’s an approach that has benefits beyond creative and technology-driven disciplines. Understanding and teaching the knowledge required for design thinking is akin to learning to swim from a book. Tune in and hear from an advocacy panel of desig...

In a time of radically accelerated cultural and ecological change, four emerging landscape architecture educators come together to discuss: How can learning environments cultivate the practices of students to be ethical, critical and attentive to the future? Pedagogies developed by landscape architecture educators empower and equip students to shape future landscapes that are largely invisible to...

There was a time when the single-family home was the dominant form of architecture. Apartment design played a poor, compromised support act. That day is now over. New award-winning apartment buildings are grabbing front pages, and more architects are diving into the opportunity. Yet what do we really know about their quality? Are they genuinely family-friendly? Are they long-term propositions, or...

Tune in to a a special a special conversation with engineers and makers as they reflect on the film, Frei Otto: Spanning the Future, a documentary about the incredible life and work of Frei Otto. As an architect and engineer, he laid the foundation for contemporary lightweight architecture and his ideas are still awe-inspiring decades after he revealed them. This fact was cemented when he was name...

Circular innovation is already paving the way to better outcomes for the environment and planetary health, as brands implement circular design concepts and move from a take-make-waste linear economy towards a circular economy. Hear from a series of experts and leaders on this topic who discussed the rise of biomaterials and biophilic design, circular design principles to design out waste and pollu...

Recognised as a single living entity, the Birrarung (Yarra River) has shaped and formed the landscape over millennia, unifying this landscape that we all live within. Our river lives, breathes and supports the life of the community. In return, its life has been supported by the custodianship of Traditional Owners for thousands of generations. The Birrarung is more than just water. It is the layers...

Tune into an evening at MPavilion that delved into the power of unseen architecture through post occupancy evaluation. What is the potential to improve or diminish lives, to create community or sow division—and the obligation of the architect, if any, to inform it? Join us SONA (Student Organised Network for Architecture) and EmAGN (Emerging Architects and Graduates Network) as we highlighted the...

Tune in to a conversation about colour in architecture with Matthias Sauerbruch—director of internationally recognised, Berlin-based architecture firm Sauerbruch Hutton. From their earliest projects such as the “L House” in London (1990 – 1992), to their award-winning “GSW Headquarters” in Berlin (1995 – 1999) to their more recent “M9 Museum District” in Venice-Mestre—Sauerbruch Hutton have not be...

Technology’s relationship to sex is complex and ever-changing. Dating apps, the pill, and digital mass porn are only a few of the technological innovations that have radically impacted our sexual lives and how we relate to each other. So, how should we design technologies related to human sexuality and intimacy? What sexual dilemmas can be solved using technology and which can’t? Why do technologi...

The design of memory-making experiences is often undervalued in our everyday places and cities. But as narrative environment theorist Tricia Austin says, spaces speak and spaces narrate. So how might we apply this formula to create more memorable and meaningful places and experiences in our city? Tune in to learn more about various research theories that look at how the memory of place is created...

Architecture operates within colonial systems. These systems are often at odds with caring for Country practices, genuine participatory design practices and equity of opportunity. If you trace the systems back to their core, the problem is often a misalignment in the values that govern decision making. Some work has been done to align Aboriginal and Western systems more closely, but it is by no me...

Listen to an engaging discussion that explored the relationship between design and worldview—and how they both influence, shape and transform each other. The talk delved into concepts like ontological design, eco literacy and a systems-informed view of life. It investigated how the language we use shapes our reality—which, in turn, informs the beliefs and values that make up our worldview. As part...

Renting is the fastest growing tenure in Australia, and is increasingly a way of life. Today, more than half a million households rent their homes in metropolitan Melbourne. Tune in to this interactive open mic session, where you’ll hear the stories of other Melbourne renters as they examined the past and future of renting in our big city. How do we navigate the complexities of the renting lifesty...