The Naomi Milgrom Foundation has released the design of the 2017 MPavilion by Netherlands-based architects Rem Koolhaas & David Gianotten of OMA and it’s an absolute stunner. Taking inspiration from the ancient amphitheatre, the modernist-looking design blurs the boundaries between inside and outside as well as between audience and performer.Naomi Milgrom AO, MPavilion founder, said that working with Rem, David and the OMA team is an extraordinary privilege. “OMA’s exciting design engenders a theatre for ideas with Melbourne as its backdrop. MPavilion 2017 will be extremely different to previous years, with a designated yet flexible stage enabling all kinds of cross-pollinated activity,” she said.Commenting on the 2017 MPavilion, Rem Koolhaas and David Gianotten said: “MPavilion is a project that hopes to provoke discussion around what architecture can do both globally and in an Australian context. We’re interested in treating this pavilion not just as an architectural object, but as something that injects intensity into a city and contributes to an ever-evolving culture.”The 2017 pavilion comprises a circular amphitheatre embraced by a hill of indigenous plants and covered by a huge floating roof structure. It is shaped by two tiered grandstands, one of which is fixed and the other movable. The rotating grandstand allows interaction from all angles and for the pavilion to open up to the garden and broader cityscape.The pavilion is capped by a 2-metre-deep gridded, machine-like canopy with a protective translucent roof which will provide lighting and technology for the free public events. “The simple materiality of the pavilion is related to its direct surroundings, positioning the Queen Victoria Gardens itself – and the city of Melbourne – as a basis for activity and debate within the pavilion,” said Gianotten. Read more