MPavilion Parkville program activates research in public space

MPavilion Parkville has launched its Semester 1 program, offering University of Melbourne researchers, students and the wider community new ways to encounter research through hands-on public experiences.

Located on the Parkville campus, MPavilion Parkville is the University’s open-air space for research-led creative practice and public engagement. Across the semester, the pavilion will host a series of free workshops, art, guided walks and talks, developed in collaboration with University researchers, artists and practitioners. The projects span urban ecologies, biomaterials, cultural knowledge systems, place-based inquiry and the night-time city.

This semester’s program brings together collaborations across multiple faculties and research groups. Researchers from the Melbourne Centre for Cities lead The Nocturnal Campus walks, developed through the Night Shift research project, inviting audiences to experience the Parkville campus after dark and consider how safety, labour, mobility and care shape the night-time city.

Sustainable construction and material research is explored through Building with Earth, Hemp & Straw, led by architectural practice Simulaa, founded by Andre Bonnice from the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning and Anna Jankovic (RMIT University). Drawing on Bonnice’s teaching and research at the University, the workshops introduce bio-based building techniques through practical, small-scale making.

Place-based ecological research features in a guided walk developed by Petrichor Collaborative, including architectural designer Maria Bulmaga, architect Gina Dahl and Landscape architect Harrison Baxter, who work with the Urban Ecology and Design Lab (UEDLAB) in the Melbourne School of Design. Their project, Hidden Waters of the Birrarung, invites participants to explore how waterways, plants and urban infrastructure reveal the ongoing presence and living memory of the Birrarung.

The program also includes a student-focused creative development project led by multidisciplinary artist and VCA alum Laura Banfield, developed in partnership with the George Paton Gallery.

Together, these projects demonstrate how University research can extend beyond traditional academic settings, becoming something people can experience directly through shared curiosity, creative practice and public participation.