Your stories. Your collection. Your new museum.

Powerhouse Parramatta is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform and renew one of Australia’s oldest and most important cultural institutions.

As the first NSW State cultural institution to be based in Western Sydney, Powerhouse Parramatta will increase access to culture for all and reflect the diverse communities of Greater Sydney.

‘Powerhouse Parramatta will be Australia’s very own Smithsonian … [and] will put Australia and Parramatta on the international cultural map.’

— Professor Barney Glover AO: Vice-Chancellor, Western Sydney University

Powerhouse Parramatta will deliver dynamic exclusive international exhibitions, education and community programs that will attract over 2 million visitors in its first year.

With over 500,000 objects in its collection, the Powerhouse is recognised internationally as one of the great repositories of shared stories of innovation and achievement, providing a comprehensive insight into our rich and diverse country.

No museum in Australia is better placed to demonstrate the continued impact of the applied arts and sciences on our world through technology, innovation, design and engineering.

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The Vision: Powerhouse Parramatta

Stunningly ambitious in vision and epic in scale, Powerhouse Parramatta will be:

• The largest cultural infrastructure project in NSW since the Sydney Opera House.
• One of the largest structural engineering and architecturally complex projects underway in Australia.
• The largest museum in NSW at 30,000 square metres.

Some of the unique design and architectural features of Powerhouse Parramatta include:

• 18,000 square metres for inspiring exhibitions and education programs, sharing more of the Powerhouse collection than ever before.
• The museum is designed so that the superstructure is a celebrated architectural feature that is used to articulate the building facades. The buildings are designed with three types of steel lattices as an exoskeleton to the buildings.
• Seven presentation spaces will be of international museum standard for the display of the Powerhouse collection, local and international exhibitions, and large-scale objects.
• The Lang Walker Family Academy will provide world-class immersive STEM education experiences for over 10,000 high school students from Western Sydney and regional NSW every year, including overnight stays at the museum. The first in-school program, Powerhouse Future Space has commenced.
• The Vitocco Family Kitchen will bring together leading chefs and producers from across Australia and around the world to engage audiences and communities with the histories and leading contemporary thinking about the culture and production of food. The 200-seat presentation space will feature a large-scale demonstration kitchen and utilise high-end technology to support the creation of digital content.
• Holdmark Gallery and a new biennial exhibition focusing on innovation in design, engineering, and architecture.

‘We designed Powerhouse Parramatta to sit alongside the great cultural landmarks of the world, but it is first a meeting place and point of reference for Western Sydney.’

— Hiroko Kusunoki, Nicholas Moreau and Steven Toia: Lead Architects, Moreau-Kusunoki and Genton

Project Status

In September 2021, Powerhouse welcomed news that Lendlease was awarded the contract to deliver Powerhouse Parramatta.

Construction commenced in early 2022 and site activities are well underway. All three tower cranes have been installed and commissioned to assist with the movement of heavy materials around site. The final crane is a Favelle Favco M2480D – the world’s largest luffing crane.

The Powerhouse Parramatta project team are using the first ever cranes in Australia to be powered by 100 per cent renewable diesel marking a critical transition towards fossil fuel free construction.

The biggest concrete pour for the project has been completed – with more than 1000 cubic metres poured in one day; that’s the equivalent of 160 concrete trucks. The first of 12,000 tonnes of structural steel has been installed. Over the year, large steel deliveries will arrive to site as the structure of the building progresses.

Visit our Media Section for major announcements. For project and construction updates, visit Infrastructure NSW.