Announced in February as the architect selected to design the MPavilion 2016—an annually created installation—Indian architect Bijoy Jain, founder of Studio Mumbai in India, has revealed images of his planned design. The program is funded by the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, a local nonprofit that supports public architecture and design projects. This year's installation will focus on culture as a conduit for human connection, and utilize natural elements in its construction. MPavilion 2016 will be open to the public from Oct. 5, 2016 through Feb. 18, 2017.
The new MPavilion will be 12 meters (39 feet) tall, and have 16.8-square-meters (181 square feet) of covered space. Its bamboo frame will be held in tension by rope, while the roof and awning will be made of a material that combines cow dung and earth into panels that are tied to the bamboo structure and covered in a waterproof white lime plaster.
An intricate tower—similar to the aesthetic of the "tazia," an elaborate, vertical tomb-like structure that is carried for religious ceremony in some Muslim communities—will sit atop an off-center opening in the roof to represent the sky. Jain and his Studio Mumbai team have been working for the past six months, collaborating with a team of Arup engineers from Australia and Mumbai, in order to realize the design.
“I wanted to create a space that connects the entire culture of the land," Jain said in a press release from the foundation. "The tower, or ‘tazia,’ is an imaginary building that reaches deep into the stars, so it is otherworldly ... I want the MPavilion to be the scaffolding that provides a creative space that suspends visitors between earth, ground, and sky."
Last year's forest canopy–like MPavilion 2015 was designed by London-based studio, AL_A, and used materials from the aerospace industry, to create a shaded haven for visitors. Translucent petals measuring 10- to 16.5-feet-wide each and fitted with LED light sources topped 13 large and 30 small carbon-fiber columns. Each day after sunset, they put on a musically synchronized light show.
MPavilion 2016 will continue the program's tradition of hosting a variety of free events including musical performances, lectures, and workshops when it opens this fall.
