Powerhouse Parramatta, dubbed as Australia’s most significant new museum, is set to open to the public in 2025. 

Designed by Moreau Kusunoki and Sydney-based firm Genton, the new museum, located on a landmark site in Western Sydney, is envisioned as the largest cultural development in Australia since the Sydney Opera House and is planned to open its doors in early 2025.

The 32,579-square-metre museum, located in the heart of Western Sydney in Parramatta, is bounded by the river and home to one of the fastest growing and most diverse communities in Australia.

Dubbed as "a pioneering a new museum model", the new museum aims to redefine contemporary museum practice and culture. The building features 7 large scale exhibition spaces alongside learning and digital studios, a cinema, an 800-seat theatre, an extensive rooftop garden, restaurants and cafes. 

The museum will also consist of 30 residential studios, bringing together scientists, researchers and artists to collaborate with the Powerhouse and its communities. 

In addition, the Lang Walker Family Academy will include 60 bed accommodation within the museum precinct for remote students to immerse themselves in new science, technology and cultural learning experiences. 

A green landscaped public domain between the museum and the river will be open 24 hours a day, connecting the community with industry and learning, and supporting festival events and programmes for audiences of up to 10,000.

"Powerhouse Parramatta will enable our ambition to be a leader in a radical approach to museum culture, giving voice and agency to the full range of communities that make up Sydney’s diverse population," said Lisa Havilah, Chief Executive of Powerhouse Sydney.

"Simultaneously a centre for production, display and learning, we will celebrate the dynamic shift in how Sydney thinks about itself, its culture and its communities." 

"We will prioritise investment in First Nations communities promoting self-determination and shared responsibility, to engage a generation," Havilah added.

The museum is one of the largest and most complex architectural and structural engineering projects currently underway in Australia. 

The building design has been conceived by Paris based architects Moreau Kusunoki, serving as the Lead Designer. Moreau Kusunoki is working in partnership with Australian architecture practice Genton, who will serve as the Local Architect. 

The exoskeleton concept design is being led by Master Japanese engineer, Jun Sato, founder of Jun Sato Engineering, whose work on high-tensile architectural facades is legendary.

Powerhouse Sydney has its origins in the Museum of Applied Arts and Science founded in 1879 and sits at the intersection of the arts, design, science and technology. 

It is currently undertaking a landmark $1.4 billion infrastructure renewal program across its four sites in Sydney, spearheaded by the creation of the flagship museum, Powerhouse Parramatta; expanded research and public facilities at Powerhouse Castle Hill; the renewal of the iconic Powerhouse in Ultimo; and the ongoing operation of Sydney Observatory. 

The museum is custodian to over half a million objects of national and international significance and is considered one of the finest and most diverse collections in Australia. Powerhouse is also undertaking an expansive digitisation project that will provide new levels of access to the collections.

Powerhouse Parramatta is being delivered through the NSW Government’s delivery agency Infrastructure NSW with construction partner Lendlease.

In 2019, Moreau Kusunoki and Australian architecture practice Genton won the international design competition for the new Powerhouse Parramatta, Sydney, Australia.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2024, with official opening in 2025. 

Project facts

Project name: Powerhouse Parramatta

Location: 34–54 Phillip St, Parramatta, Australia

Project Specs: Surface area of the site is 19,500 sqm

Total Floor Area: 32,579 sqm

Exhibition and Public Space: 8,572 sqm

Budget: $915,000,000 AUD

Lead Architect: 

Project team: Moreau Kusunoki

Local architect: Genton

Exoskeleton concept design: Jun Sato Engineering

DEP: Kinetic Structure

ARUP: Building Services

Landscape: McGregor Coxall 

Architectural lighting: L’Observatoire International

Contractor: Lendlease

All images © Moreau Kusunoki.

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concept museum Powerhouse Parramatta