2016 MPavilion Officially Opened In Queen Victoria Gardens

The 2016 MPavilion was officially opened today by Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyal and Indian High Commissioner Naydeep Suri, ahead of the opening night of the Melbourne Festival on Thursday.

Designed by Indian architect Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai, who was also present at the opening today, the sweeping canopy of this year’s pavilion will shelter more than 400 talks, workshops, performances and installations over the next four months, in the heart of Queen Victoria Gardens.

More than 7km of bamboo, 50 tonnes of stone and 26km of rope were used to create the summer pavilion, all finished by hand, pegged together using 5,000 wooden pins. The design draws on Jain’s interest in traditional architectural forms and craftsmanship and the social fulfilment of community construction. The roof of the 2016 MPavilion also uses sticks from the Karvi plant, indigenous to the low hills of the western ghats in Indian, woven together by local artisans over four months.

While Jain's design recalls ancient traditions, there are also some sophisticated technologies incorporated into the construction. Lighting concepts by Ben Cobham of Bluebottle will activate at twilight and be lit in-synch with a specially commissioned nightly soundscape by artists Geoff Nees and J David Franzke.

The pavilion’s place in the Queen Victoria Gardens has a particular significance this year, as the festival has moved the Festival Hub, usually located on the Southbank, to the Toff in Town bar in the CBD. This makes the MPavilion the sole outdoor venue for this year’s Festival.