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PETALING JAYA (June 6): World-renowned Netherlands-based Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has been commissioned to design the MPavilion 2017 in Melbourne, Australia, according to the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.
The temporary event hub and landmark will be designed by OMA founder Rem Koolhaas and managing partner David Gianotten. It will be OMA’s first completed architectural commission in Australia.
MPavilion is Australia’s leading architecture commission and design event made possible through the vision of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation and Australian philanthropist Naomi Milgrom AO, supported by major partners of City of Melbourne, the Victorian State Government through Creative Victoria and ANZ. It has received over 234,000 visitors since its inception in 2014.
“Rem Koolhaas is one of the world’s most provocative and influential architects. His contribution to the cultural landscape as an urban thinker, together with OMA’s multi-disciplinary approach to architecture, reflects MPavilion’s desire to inspire debate about the role of design in building equitable and creative cities,” said chair of Naomi Milgrom Foundation Naomi Milgrom AO in a statement.
In recent years, large-scale projects completed by OMA include the Qatar Foundation Headquarters in Doha, Faena District in Miami, London’s Design Museum, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow, Fondazione Prada in Milan, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, De Rotterdam and China Central Television Headquarters in Beijing.
“The Naomi Milgrom Foundation’s MPavilion is now a project of international significance and we look forward to contributing to the architectural legacy it has engendered.
“We are excited by the brief of designing a cultural heart for the city — a space of public engagement that will spark creativity and discussion, and that will act as a theatre for ideas.
“MPavilion continues OMA’s history of successful cultural projects — Fondazione Prada in Milan, the Garage Museum in Moscow’s Gorky Park, Casa da Musica in Porto, the Seattle Public Library — all which have become important civic centres and independent spaces for the public,” said OMA.
MPavilion 2016 closed on Feb 18, 2017, and has attracted more than 94,000 visitors and hosted more than 487 free events over the 139-day event within the architectural pavilion designed by acclaimed Indian architect Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai.
MPavilion 2017 will be opened to the public for free on Oct 3, 2017. Visit www.mpavilion.org for more information.
