MPavilion

Join Parlour for a special Seasonal Salon exploring what it means to make homes for others. How do we, collectively, ensure that everyone has a home? What roles can different professions play in preventing homelessness and supporting women in accessing and making homes? What can we learn from each other, and how can we contribute? The Salons are informal casual conversations on the topics that mat...

Co-hosted by Readings, hear Omar Musa discuss his work and gift us a performance to take you into the moment. Omar Musa, a Malaysian-Australian rapper, poet and author is one of Australia’s most important young voices. In his writing and music he confronts the dark realities of Australian history and culture. His latest release, Killernova, is a collection of poetry and wood cuts that burns blindi...

How do we design to survive? (Responding to a climate and biodiversity emergency) In 2019, The City of Melbourne declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. The Declaration recognises that climate change and mass species extinction pose serious risks to the people of Melbourne and Australia and should be treated as an emergency. How does the built environment of our city need to change to help...

How do we design for intersectionality? Whether we are aware or not, the fundamental principles that shape our city are based on a preconceived idea of the ‘average’ person. Our experience of cities is influenced by gender, ethnicity, physical ability, sexual orientation, age, and many other factors. By celebrating these unique experiences, we can shape our cities to allow everyone to thrive. Hear...

Age-Friendly Design is a concept that’s increasingly being considered and applied across councils and cities both in Australia and internationally. A conversation that brings together multiple views, to interrogate whether AFD allows for expansion beyond older-age considerations to an all-age inclusive approach to urban design. Curated by Young Seniors + Co, the invited speakers explore how the mi...

In Australia, there is a growing interest in a collaborative design process that engages First Nations communities, Elders, consultants and designers. With the continued momentum of Indigenous engagement through design and beyond, how are we representing and acknowledging Indigenous voices in architectural projects after completion, in publications and in awards programs? This discussion explores...

The built environment industry is exploring how Country, community and culture can be embedded into their project outcomes. It is imperative that we first listen to Traditional Custodians and knowledge holders to inform how we plan with Country, which forms the basis of this discussion. MPavilion’s fifth annual BLAKitecture forum centralises Indigenous voices in conversations about architecture, t...

MTalks—BLAKitecture: A Bid for Transparency EOIs, RFTs and the complexities of bid writing are a challenge within themselves. In this context, how do we also then appropriately address Indigenous engagement and Indigenous knowledge with limited time, resources and probity requirements? This yarn brought together built environment practitioners and Indigenous engagement specialists to share their e...

Learning environments are supposed to be safe spaces in which students can feel they are uninhibited to ask anything and hopefully achieve a level of cultural competency previous generations of architects could only dream of. But, are you curious about how and why Indigenising the curriculum sometimes feels like there are persistent questions you never get to ask? This discussion was an open invit...

How do we see Melbourne as an Aboriginal place? This informal, open conversation supports individual and collective learning, and knowledge sharing to progress awareness and capacity to support Reconciliation. The City of Melbourne’s Design Excellence Program reinforces the city’s commitment to enhancing the function, liveability, sustainability and public contribution of our buildings and urban s...

What might the world be like if poets wrote our building and planning regulations? What if regulations were written by other writers too, not just poets, but also storytellers, songwriters, screenwriters, artists, choreographers, and philosophers? The things governing bodies choose to regulate—and the methods they use to evaluate compliance—tell a story about what we, as a society, collectively va...

Design has the unique ability to dignify and make people feel valued, respected, honoured and seen. Architects and designers are expanding their ranks to serve not only the privileged few but the general public. Architecture is no longer a matter of only form, but rather, a matter of what the projects enable. This panel conversation discusses and celebrates the experiences and pro-bono work done b...

From the pressure to appear in certain ways, to the power of resisting expectations through appearance, beauty is political. This panel looks at the politics of beauty when it comes to gender, sexuality, race, disability and other facets of identity. How should we think about different beauty practices that happen in the salon – like hair removal, manicures, and facials – from a critical perspecti...

From hyper masculine barbershops to super femininised nail bars, the space of the salon can be highly gendered. Salons are also often assumed to be associated with normative beauty expectations tied up with class, race and ability. How can the space of the salon be designed to challenge or change these expectations, and to make space for a diverse range of experiences and expressions? This panel c...

Future Practice (written by Rory Hyde) revealed alternative methods of design practice at the edge of architecture. Nine years since it's publication, it is even more important that we empower emerging designers to have a more expansive approach to their practice. Challenges within today's society demand we confront conventional practice with collaboration—and become more adaptable for an uncertai...

When what is equal and what is just can often differ, can architects design to honour the rights of all humans, while also hold space for the non-human rights of waterways and animals alike? Hear from a panel of Australian Institute of Architects industry thought leaders, who discuss and unpack what design excellence within placemaking for future generations looks like when designing for the moral...

A dancethropological exploration of trends. The interwoven relationship between club counter culture and its drip fed influence into the mainstream could be credited as one of the biggest IP robberies of all time. From the moment this undercurrent emerged, it has continued to flow like an undammed, unpaid and uncredited natural resource for those that need to sell, own & name things. Listen to a l...

Listen to six artists as they discuss the processes in procuring, and incorporating under-utilised materials in their practice. The session focuses on how the artist—as creator and consumer—actively refuses to create wasteful by-products in their practice and where possible, uses discarded waste products and manufacturing by-products. This talk was presented in conjunction with Craft Victoria's Me...

Skateboarding has long had a reputation for being a rebellious sub-culture—but it's something much more meaningful than that. The skateboarding community continues to prove that this little wooden toy on wheels can be a force for good. Listen as we explore the social impact of skateboarding—as we chat to a diverse range of skate panellists, each doing their bit to make the world a better place, on...

‘Future Homes’ is a government initiative to facilitate better density development in the suburbs. The first stage of the project achieves this through readily available, high-quality apartment plans paired with a streamlined planning process. The ‘Future Homes design competition’ was launched at MPavilion in February 2020. Two years later, we invite you to come along and see the design evolution...

This panel discussion works towards building the capacity of built environment designers to recognise their duty-bearer and accountability status as controllers of built environment design, however un-empowered they may feel. Rather than exploring the right of access to design expertise, ‘Disability, Human Rights, and the Built Environment’ explores the implications of (disability)human rights pri...

Women over the age of 55 are the fastest growing cohort of homeless in Australia and current research estimates that more than 400,000 women over the age of 45 are at risk of homelessness. Women who find themselves at risk of homelessness in later life have often led productive lives and have had conventional housing histories. What factors have placed them at risk of homelessness and what can we...

As housing prices increase, more and more older women are seeking access to affordable housing alternatives. Nursing homes, retirement villages, expensive private rentals and traditional owner-mortgage arrangements are no longer meeting the financial or social needs of many. Hear about existing and emerging alternative housing options in Victoria—why they are needed, what they are trying to achiev...

Renowned visual artist Patricia Piccinini in conversation with wildlife scientist and marine mammal expert Dr Vanessa Pirotta. Tune in to learn everything there is to know about these extraordinary creatures, their more typical journeys through the ocean and how their wondrous evolution became the inspiration behind Patricia’s Skywhales.

For 80,000+ years Aboriginal knowledge systems have guided the way humans interact with and care for Country.  Join Krystal De Napoli in conversation with Zena Cumpston, Kirsten Banks, and William Stevens as they discuss the strength within Aboriginal science and how engaging with Aboriginal perspectives can lead to the healing of both land and sky Country.  Zena Cumpston is a Barkandji researcher...