Melbourne: The Latest Architecture and News

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AL_A has completed Melbourne's second annual MPavilion. The temporary installation, initiated by Naomi Milgrom Foundation, was unveiled today in Queen Victoria Gardens. For the next four months, the public is welcome to populate the artificial "forest canopy," whose translucent petals were developed using aerospace technology to demonstrate how an ultra-lightweight structure that can "sit lightly on the landscape and gently respond to the climate." "Each petal is fitted with LED lights that are activated by the sunset to give a light performance synchronized with music," says the organizers.

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For this week's edition of The Urbanist, Monocle's weekly "guide to making better cities," the team explore why being 'number two' is not always a bad thing in an episode about second cities and the ways in which they step out of their capital's shadow. From Milan to Melbourne, the team examine how and why some cities are carving their own niche in the international business and tourism markets. They also interview the Mayor of Aarhus about the challenges – and advantages – of governing Denmark’s second city.

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Images have been released of Melbourne's second annual MPavilion. Designed by British architect Amanda Levete of AL_A, the temporary structure will use the latest technology in nautical engineering to stimulate a forest-like canopy within the city’s Queen Victoria Gardens. A series of three- and five-meter wide petals made from ultra-thin translucent composite and carbon fiber will "sway" on top slender columns, mimicking the tree line to the site's east.

Beyonce's Ghost has inspired plans for a curvaceous, 226-meter-tall in Melbourne. Designed by Elenberg Fraser, the dubbed "Premier Tower" has received planning permission and will be built at 134 Spencer Street, adjacent to the Southern Cross station.

According to the architects, the mixed-use project's "complex form" was shaped by climatic restraints and after "Beyonce's moving body" seen in her recent music video Ghost. It is set to rise 68-stories on a stepped podium in the city's central business district. Once complete, it will house 660 apartments, a 160-room hotel, and retail space. 

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For this week's editions of Section D, Monocle 24's weekly review of design, architecture and craft, and The Urbanist, their weekly "guide to making better cities," the Monocle team travel across three continents exploring the seemingly illusive question of 'quality of life.'

In this week's edition of The Urbanist, and to coincide with Monocle's annual Quality of Life survey, Andrew Tuck examines why Tokyo is at the forefront of an urban-garden revolution, how the Austrian capital is planning on self-facilitating its development as a major business hub, and talks to Robert Doyle, Lord Mayor of Melbourne, about the apparent cultural boom currently taking place in his city. In Section D, Josh Fehnert transports listeners to the UK's "post-industrial heartland" to talk to the people behind this year's Sheffield Design Week, plus more.

Listen to both episodes after the break.

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