Indian architect's creation opens in Melbourne

A unique handmade pavilion, believed to Australia's largest bamboo structure designed by an Indian architect using allorganic materials from India, opened here in Queen Victoria Gardens.
The third annual summer pavilion, Designed by Indian architect Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai, officially opened yesterday.
Dubbed as Australia's largest bamboo structure,MPavilion 2016 has been included as a part of the programme for the ongoing Indian fest 'Confluence:Festival of India' that is runningacross the major Australiancities.
The artstructurewas officially opened by MPavilion founder Naomi Milgrom AO, Melbourne'sLord Mayor Robert Doyle and Indian High Commissioner Naydeep Suri.
Speaking on the occasion, Suri welcomed the partnership between MPavilion 2016 and the ongoing Indian festival and complimentedtheNaomi Milgrom Foundation for selectingJain.

Suri said that the structure wasa distinctive onewhose simplicity, elegance and frugal design represented a truly Gandhian spirit.

MPavilion 2016, ahandmade architectural piece, uses seven kms of bamboo, 50 tonnes of stone and 26km of rope to create an extraordinary 16.8m square pavilion which sits on a bluestone floor sourced from a quarry in Port Fairy, Victoria.
Bamboo poles imported from India especially for the MPavilion are pegged together with 5,000 wooden pins and lashed together with rope and slatted panels that form the MPavilion roof are constructed from sticks from the Karvi plant woven together by craftspeople in India over four months.

Jain said,"MPavilion is a space for the people of Melbourne to gather, talk, think and to reflect. My objective has not just been to create a new building, but to capture the spirit of the place by choosing the right materials, respecting the surrounding nature and working collaboratively with local craftspeople to share design and construction ideas."
The MPavilion 2016 design employed handcrafted Indian construction methods, refined in collaboration with a team of Australian builders from Kane Construction who travelled to Mumbai to take part in Jain's collaborative and intuitive approach to design and construction.