MPavilion

For more than 65,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have studied the intricate ways in which the sky and land are connected. Listen back to Kamilaroi astrophysics student Krystal De Napoli to hear about the methods Indigenous astronomers use to predict weather and harvest cycles from the sky, plan ceremonial practices, and navigate vast distances.

This presentation will explores the use of orality as the vehicle for encoding and preserving astronomical knowledge over thousands of years, while describing phenomena such as solar eclipses, supernova, variable stars and moon halos.

Listen back to this 2019 Talk with Jeni Paay, Flavia Marcello, and Dan Golding.

Architects and planners don’t just plan for the present—they imagine the future. In past times of crisis and upheaval, architects have thought beyond the realm of the possible, creating new visions of the future that reimagine how people can once again live harmoniously in cities. We are currently facing new times of disharmony and uncertainty but the crisis is not world war it is global warming.

Post-war designs for the future hoped to shape society in new and radical ways, including: Bruno Taut’s City Crown, 1919, Le Corbusier’s Radiant City, 1920, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City, 1958 and Archigram’s Plug-in city, 1964. How many of these utopian visions eventuated? Did they influence the design of the cities we live in today? Can we connect how we live today to these imaginings of harmonious and idyllic living?

In looking at past examples of future thinking, we see the importance of designers thinking beyond the boundaries of what is possible when designing for the future. The impossible becomes possible only when thinking beyond the realm of the possible.

How will today’s architects respond to current uncertainty? Adaptable and sustainable architectural design, like that of Glenn Murcutt, is one way to shape the future of the built environment. What else can we do?

This event is presented by Smart Cities Research Institute at the Swinburne University of Technology.

This event is supported by RACV.

Where have Melbourne Music Week’s last ten years taken us? And where will its next ten lead? As MMW commences its tenth anniversary, lets analyse the idea and impact of the annual music week in promoting a city’s music culture.

Listen back to this 2019 talk from Dr Andrea Baker, lecturer and author of ‘The Great Music City’, sustainability-focused councillor Cathy Oke; Look Out Kid co-director Nick O’Byrne; Bakehouse Studios co-founder Helen Marcou, and Yorta Yorta poet, musician and activist Neil Morris.

Listen back to a special edition of our MRelay series, organised by the M_Curators. As young people from the age of 18-25, they have chosen to focus this MRelay on the biggest issue facing their generation: the climate crisis. The MRelay series takes the art of conversation and makes it into an intellectual team sport where—instead of batons—insights and ideas are passed down the chain.

In September 2019, record numbers of people around the world took to the streets to demand action on climate change—from government officials, to organisations and industries. But what happens now? How do we make concrete changes? We’ve assembled a diverse group of thinkers to tackle these issues together. There’ll be scientists interviewing fashion designers, youth activists talking art and design, architects meeting comedians…experts and every day people, young and old, all side by side, deep diving into the question “what is the change you would most like to see taking place?”

The lineup for MRelay is:

Charity Edwards

Stuart Outhred

Jade Sarita Arnott

Chelsea Hickman

Yandell Walton

Jane Morton

Neil Morris

Linden Ashcroft

Alec Reade

Dr. Mittul Vahanvati

Jiri Lev

Jess Wood

Karin Traeger Hermosilla

The Climate Crisis host is Alanta Colley.

This event is supported by MPavilion’s principal partner RACV.

Join kundalini yoga teacher and founder of Mistletone Records & Touring Sophie Miles, Artist as Family, and musician Allara Briggs Pattison, as they discuss the alternate sources of energy, healing and renewal in this new climate era, in response to MPavilion’s February theme — Earth: A Place of Reconciliation, a Reconciliation of Place.

Lauren Taylor and Simon Winkler, hosts of 3RRR’s Breaking & Entering, record a special podcast each month, with guests including inventive artists, musicians and creatives. Over four nights through the season, Lauren and Simon and their guests will dig into this year’s program themes: Australian Design: Identity & Cultural Collaboration; Connection: Instruments of Harmonious Living; Unplugged: Energy Without Electricity; Earth: A Place of Reconciliation, a Reconciliation of Place; and Knowledge: Shared Learning, Shared Power.

Listen back to this forum speculating on alternative models of reciprocity that could facilitate community empowerment and procurement; debating the pros and cons and imagining a future where this is commonplace.

MPavilion’s third annual BLAKitecture forum brings together Indigenous built environment practitioners on the Yaluk-ut Weelam land of the Boon Wurrung people. The forum aims to centralise Indigenous voices in conversations about architecture, the representation of histories, the present state and the future of our built environments. BLAKitecture 2019/20 is co-curated by MPavilion’s program consultant Sarah Lynn Rees and Jack Mitchell.

This presentation by Dr Paul Toyne, Sustainability Practice Leader at Grimshaw, explores the ingenuity and possibility of architecture as we look for intelligent strategies for sustainable future living, and to strengthen humanity’s connection with nature. Drawing upon Grimshaw’s interest for projects with minimal footprints, Paul explores how the disciplines of architecture and urban design may adapt to, and regenerate, the Earth’s systems.

With its aspirational message about the natural world, ecology and technology, this event brings to the fore the responsibility we have to act quickly and challenge ourselves to do more to restore the health of our planet.

Melbourne is proudly Australia’s ‘most liveable city’ – but how can we best accommodate a doubling of the population without doubling the footprint of the city?

Join a wide-ranging discussion exploring how we can face Melbourne’s housing challenges as we grow to Australia’s biggest city. Andrew Mackenzie leads a range of experts from urban design, transport, economic, academic and government perspectives exploring the future challenges across these areas. Wild speculation, utopian visions and practical solutions are all welcome as we ask what do we need to consider now to ensure future Melbourne is an equitable, delightful place?

We are thrilled to join with Housing Choices Australia for the 2020 Oswald Barnett Oration. Listen back to this talk, with speakers from government, planning and property sectors.

Our panel this year is expert, diverse and opinionated but they share a common goal; to dramatically improve the housing opportunities of people in need, in the city fast becoming the growth capital of the nation, Melbourne.

Moderator: Journalist and lead moderator with the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership, Peter Mares

Panellists:

The Right Hon. The Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sally Capp

Victorian Housing and Planning Minister, The Hon. Richard Wynne MP

Executive Director, Property Council of Australia (Victorian Division), Cressida Wall

Managing Director, Housing Choices Australia, Michael Lennon

CEO, National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC), Nathan Dal Bon

Listen back to this discussion with Simona Castricum around the theme 'What is home'. This talk was presented as part of a 5-day long program exploring 'Who we are together, and what is home?', with talks and workshops supported by RACV.

Simona Castricum is an architecture academic, musician and designer from Melbourne. As an educator and PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, her work explores gender nonconforming and queer intersections in architecture, the city and public space. Simona is an electronic music performer, and a community radio broadcaster on RRR and PBS FM. Simona is active in trans and gender diverse advocacy in music and the built environment as a design consultant, public speaker and freelance writer.