Co-designed by Australian and Rohingya artists, curators and advocates, the work is shaped through collaboration with Rohingya communities across Sydney, Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Inspired by the Banyan tree - a symbol of shelter, generosity and communal life - the Pavilion unfolds as a place of welcome. Its branching form invites visitors to move through and engage with the space, fostering moments of interaction and shared experience.

At its core is the Rohingya proverb “Kosefator Pani” (“even water leaves no trace on a Taro leaf”), reflecting the fragility of cultural identity within a largely stateless diaspora. While this speaks to the risk of erasure, Meeras Pavilion resists this narrative - shifting the focus toward presence, resilience and self-representation.

Through participation and encounter, the Pavilion becomes a living site of cultural affirmation, inviting audiences to connect, reflect and stand in solidarity while celebrating the richness and continuity of Rohingya identity.

Meeras Pavilion has been recognised in the 2026 Australian Good Design Awards, Australia’s longest-running international design awards, for excellence in design, innovation and impact.

This year’s Awards are presented under the theme Design that Leads - celebrating the critical role of design in navigating complexity, driving innovation and creating positive change.

At a time of unprecedented social, environmental and technological change, this year’s theme recognises that good design is more than an outcome, it is a powerful way of thinking, imagining and acting. It challenges us to question what is, envision what could be and design better products, services, places and systems for people and planet.

Among this year’s Award Winners is Meeras Pavilion, which received a prestigious 2026 Australian Good Design Award Gold Winner in the Social Impact category.

JURY COMMENTS:

“The Jury recognises Meeras Pavilion as an extraordinary co-design project that demonstrates a groundbreaking social design methodology, weaving Rohingya folk traditions with contemporary design to create a powerful advocacy tool for the world's largest stateless people.

The Jury was impressed by the multilayered approach that achieved systemic impact, including cultural revitalisation, mental health outcomes, and MSF's transformation of their global practice toward community co-design. The level of care and commitment to the relational aspects of this process, coupled with experiential design that engaged 35,000 visitors and reached 20 million people online, stands as a testament to what design can achieve when genuinely made with communities rather than for them.

The Jury congratulates the team on this incredibly powerful work.”