MPavilion is Australia’s leading architectural commission and design event created by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation. Every year a temporary pavilion, designed by an outstanding architect, is erected in Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Gardens. Over the summer, it hosts an energetic program of free events for the community including: lively talks, performances, workshops, installations and kid-friendly experiences .

The design brief for MPavilion 2021 was to create a dynamic platform that actively engages with the urban landscape - a container of ideas incorporating the highest level of design thinking, innovation and experimentation. With 50,000 visitors, attending over 250 events across a 5-month season, it was important that MPavilion 2021 be easily accessible and inviting, as well as versatile and adaptable. 

MPavilion 2021 was designed by MAP studio (Venice) architects Francesco Magnani & Traudy Pelzel. Dubbed the Lightcatcher, they imagined MPavilion 2021 as a shimmering, kaleidoscopic device, a form of urban lighthouse intended to illuminate and reflect the diverse and inclusive programming within and the landscape around it. Open on all its sides and with no specific orientation, there was complete flexibility in the way that the space was set-up and arranged. MPavilion 2021 acted as an open stage with no implied or explicit division or hierarchy among participants, drawing people in and around it and welcoming intentional and incidental visitors alike. 

An innovative mix of materials, the structure comprised a reticular steel structure in galvanized and painted tubular profiles that housed a set of panels in a mirror-finish aluminium coating. This three-dimensional lattice was supported by four u-shaped pillars made of precast reinforced concrete, which could also be used as seating. The Lightcatcher appeared to float, suspended above the bright yellow, organically-shaped surface below. A circular kiosk in a matching colour provided hospitality to the MPavilion visitors and storage for services. 

With the MPavilion 2021’s season complete, the Lightcatcher will be moved to a new permanent location within Victoria, to continue to be enjoyed by the community. As such the structure was made to be long-lasting, entirely moveable and reusable. The use of pre-cast components allows for efficient and easy dismantling and transfer. Sustainability and a progressive approach to design extended beyond the physicality of the project and into the programming. Across the season, there were over 100 sustainability focused events, bringing together thought-leaders, educators, advocates to discuss pressing topics. 

The Lightcatcher truly reenergized and reinvigorated Melbourne’s creative and cultural life. With its playful design, vibrant colour palette and iridescent quality MPavilion 2021 truly stood as a beacon of joy and renewed hope after the gloom of the global pandemic, evoking a sense delight among all who crossed its path throughout the summer season.