Indian firm Studio Mumbai has been selected to design Melbourne's next MPavilion, an annual commission touted as Australia's answer to London's Serpentine Gallery Pavilion.
Architect Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai will design the third of four pavilions sponsored by the The Naomi Milgrom Foundation, an organisation set up by businesswoman and philanthropist Naomi Milgrom.
It will be constructed in Melbourne's Queen Victoria Gardens.
Jain follows in the footsteps of British architect Amanda Levete, whose firm AL_A created a pavilion in 2015, and Australian architect Sean Godsell, who built the inaugural pavilion in 2014.
"I want it to be a symbol of the elemental nature of communal structures," said Bijoy Jain. "Like Naomi, I see MPavilion as a place of engagement: a space to discover the essentials of the world – and of oneself."
Details of Jain's design are yet to be announced, but the pavilion is scheduled to open on 5 October 2016 and will remain in place until 18 February 2017.
"Bijoy Jain is one of the world's most fascinating architects," said Milgrom. "His approach to design reflects a deep concern for craft, sustainability and community."
"Studio Mumbai's work inspires us all to reconsider the way we design and continues MPavilion's interest in collaboration and global connectedness."
Jain is currently working on a weaving workshop in India, the Onomichi Community Center in Japan and a hotel wellness centre in France.
Jain's appointment coincides with the closing of Levete's pavilion yesterday. Featuring a forest-like canopy of over 40 fibreglass petals set on swaying stalks, it hosted a range of performances and events, and attracted over 76,000 visitors.
Godsell's pavilion meanwhile featured automated walls that folded up to open the interior out to the surrounding gardens.
Photograph of Jain and Milgrom is by Timothy Burgess and Richard Powers.