The Naomi Milgrom Foundation and the City of Melbourne jointly announced today that public access to Tadao Ando’s MPavilion in Queen Victoria Gardens will be extended for another year, through March 2025.

Globally acknowledged as one of the world’s leading contemporary architects, Pritzker Prize-winner Tadao Ando of Japan is known for his striking geometric interventions in nature and his precise, assured use of concrete. The extension will provide Melburnians and visitors alike greater opportunity to experience Tadao Ando’s iconic design – his only project in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere.

Naomi Milgrom AC, commissioner of MPavilion and founder of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation. said: “We’ve been thrilled to see visitors of all ages and from far and wide flock to MPavilion, curious to experience what Tadao Ando, an extraordinary master of design, has created for Melbourne. Being in the pavilion, looking across water and out to the green of the surrounding parklands has an immediate and unique calming effect, a slowing down amidst the fast pace of contemporary life. The pavilion has seen myriad curated and informal activities this last summer, from pilates and picnics to drawing, photography and more. Engaging in great architecture and design enriches our city and our lives, and this extended partnership with the City of Melbourne means even more of the community can now enjoy these moments for another year.”

City of Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Sally Capp said: “Each year, we’re so grateful to be able to welcome a new installation to the city, which becomes a hub for cultural events and activations.”

“Architecture is intertwined into the fabric of our city, and MPavilion does an incredible job of reminding us of that. Being able to admire the work of world-renowned architect Tadao Ando is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – it seems only natural Melburnians get to enjoy the incredible space for one more year.”

Tadao Ando said he was honoured to have his first project in Australia extended to continue connecting with the vibrant city of Melbourne.

“The news of MPavilion’s extended stay in Melbourne brings me immense joy. Naomi Milgrom and I share the belief that architecture must contribute to public life. My hope is for MPavilion to not only spark conversations and new interactions but to become a lasting part of Melbourne’s community, a new place in the urban landscape that resonates with the environment and encourages encounters between people and the natural world.”

Tadao Ando is the seventh international architect to have MPavilion as their first project in Australia.

MPavilion’s popular and impactful free program series will return for Summer 2024, running from November through March 2025. The program will create new opportunities that deepen public engagement and participation in design, art and architecture – spotlighting new voices and commissioning bold new works that respond to the site.

Expressions of interest for the 2024/2025 program will open in July. Artists, designers, makers, architects and collaborators are invited to dream up extraordinary and unexpected experiences that wouldn’t happen otherwise.

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For media enquiries, contact Kat Lindsay or Jasmine Penman on media@mpavilion.org.