Japanese architect Tadao Ando's first project in Australia is a curiosity nestled in lush Melbourne gardens, beckoning passersby to discover it.
The vast concrete structure "MPavilion 10" - the 10th iteration in the MPavilion series - appears to National Gallery of Victoria-goers as a sleek wall in the Queen Victoria Gardens, which, on investigation, disguises an entry.
Inside, visitors are rewarded with a 14.4m aluminium-clad parasol resting on a concrete column, along with a reflecting pool mirroring the tree canopy overhead and a slotted 17m wall with an inbuilt bench.
Executive architect Sean Godsell, who built MPavilion 10 under 82-year-old Ando's guidance from Japan, describes the structure as a building that "has to be found".
"He's enticing you, seducing and then holding you in this microcosm of nature," Godsell said as he took journalists on a tour of the structure on Wednesday.
"What he wants you all to do ... is to arrive and discover, and then pause and reflect, and then leave.
"It's orchestrated."
The pavilion combines overtones of a traditional Japanese garden with geometric interventions, and represents harmony with nature as Ando intended for visitors to sit and marvel at its power.
The community coming together was also front-of-mind for the Pritzker prize-winning architect, who selected the site as an "excellent" place for people to gather.
Its intended entrance is on the same axis as a pedestrian crossing, which connects it to the National Gallery of Victoria, Godsell said.
In a statement ahead of the pavilion's official launch on Thursday, Ando said much of today's architecture was built for the economy and businesses for sale and rent.
"However, I believe architecture should be more than just a business," he said.
"It should touch and connect human hearts and leave those who gather here feeling better about today."
The majority of the previous structures featured by MPavilion - an initiative of the Naomi Milgrom Foundation - have been relocated since they were exhibited over the past decade.
MPavilion 10, which is able to be fully disassembled, will be open to the public until March 28 next year.
The structure's launch signals the start of MPavilion's 2023 design festival, which includes more than 150 events.
