MPavilion

Living Cities Forum 2017—Marisa Yiu by MPavilion

Living Cities Forum 2017—Rory Hyde by MPavilion

Living Cities Forum 2017—Minsuk Cho by MPavilion

Listen back to this talk presented by The Future Laboratory's co-founder that explored how a new cohort of creative citizens are redefining the intersection between space and culture. Learn how digital tools increasingly re-write our understanding of experience, from Pokemon Go to walking tour apps like Detour to the continued use of augmented reality in traditional cultural settings and spaces like the museum and gallery.

As culture—both traditional and contemporary—is increasingly less confined to 3D environments, creativity inevitably spills out onto a city’s streets, parks, laneways and public and commercial spaces, Chris joined us at MPavilion to guide us through this new, modern paradigm.

The Cities of Architecture series of talks presented monthly at ACCA from March through to October in 2017 explore the recent architectural, urban and cultural history of some of the world’s most inspiring destinations.

We were happy to host the program launch with an MTalks forum that discussed urbanism and architecture through the vehicle of the city.

This panel featured Diego Ramírez-Lovering, head of the architecture department at Monash Art Design & Architecture and co-founding managing director of Monash Architecture Studio, together with John Denton, joint managing director of architects and urban design firm Denton Corker Marshall, and Qianyi Lim, founding partner and architect at SIBLING.

Eminent, highly-acclaimed and widely respected as a leading architect of his generation, British architect Sir David Adjaye OBE closed off one of MPavilion 2016's MTalks for the season. Sir David’s architectural work spans a great depth and breadth, most recently completing the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a Smithsonian Institute museum in Washingon D.C. Other works are many—from the private to the public—including the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management and Museum Contemporary Art in Denver and more.

Listen back and get up close and hear from one of the world’s leading architects in conversation with Michael Williams, director of The Wheeler Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas and formerly the host of the popular ABC Radio National’s cultural program 'Blueprint For Living'.

The city is our daily stage. What role do buildings play in the unfolding narrative? Among Buildings is a book by photographer Tom Ross, architect Michael Roper and graphic designer Stuart Geddes reflecting on twenty-six examples of significant Melbourne architecture through photography and poetry. The publication explores the complimentary tensions of the written word and the photographic image, engaging both the perceiving eye and the reflective mind. It builds an imaginative space between photography, poetry and buildings.

Tom, Michael and Stuart came to one of MPavilion 2016's final nights, joined by their collaborators: poet and poetry editor Micaela Sahhar and architect/artist/poet and mentor to the project, Alex Selenitsch, to discuss the book in its entirety.

Leading Danish architect, urban designer and writer Jan Gehl joined us for an MTalks on a fleeting sunny day in Melbourne. Along with Rob Adams, director of city design and projects at the City of Melbourne, and Monica Barone, CEO at City of Sydney, Jan discussed his fundamental interest in planning cities for people, where Rob and Monica placed these concepts in an Australian context. The talk focussed on the way in which the cities of Copenhagen, Melbourne and Sydney have addressed similar issues in very different ways.

Moderated by Shelley Penn, this open and engaging chat extrapolated Jan’s vision for humanistic urbanism and how versions of his design philosophy are re-oriented in other cities.

We tend to take what we know about design and architecture for granted, often based on assumptions rooted in history, culture, and geopolitics. But what happens when you change those assumptions?

This MMeets presented by Aric Chen, lead curator for design and architecture at West Kowloon Cultural District’s M+ Hong Kong focussed on how the museum aims to reveal lesser-known Asian narratives of design and architecture, while revisiting familiar global ones from the museum’s vantage point in Hong Kong, China, and Asia.

Aric Chen’s visit to Melbourne was made possible by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

Sri Lankan-born, Sydney-based artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran creates rough-edged, vibrant, new-age idols that are at once enticing and disquieting. His figurative sculptures experiment with form and scale and explore the politics of sex, the monument, gender and organised religion.

While proceeding from a confident atheist perspective, Ramesh draws upon his Hindu and Christian heritage as reference points, also looking to popular culture including the internet, pornography, fashion and art history. For his latest solo exhibition at The University of Melbourne’s Ian Potter Museum of Art, self-portraits make frequent appearances and the dual presence of male and female organs suggesting gender fluid realms of new possibilities.

Listen back to Ramesh and award winning journalist Santilla Chingaipe in conversation as they explore the possibilities of his latest body of work on show at The University of Melbourne’s Ian Potter Museum of Art, 'In the Beginning'.