Powerhouse Castle Hill
Architect: Lahznimmo Architects
Location: Sydney, Australia
Type: Museum
Year: 2024
Photographs: Rory Gardiner
The following description is courtesy of the architects. Powerhouse, Sydney’s museum of applied arts and sciences, has received the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture 2024 for its new state-of-the-art collection storehouse at Castle Hill designed by Sydney-based Lahznimmo Architects.
The Australian Institute of Architects recognised Powerhouse Castle Hill as ‘an exemplar of architecture as an interface between the public and research, preservation and curation’.
The $44 million [AUD] development at Castle Hill in Northwest Sydney is part of a $1.3 billion [AUD] transformation of Powerhouse led by the creation of the new Powerhouse Parramatta, one of the world’s most significant new museum developments, planned to open in 2026.
Opened in March 2024, Castle Hill represents a reshaping of museum practise to increase accessibility to collections and connection to local communities, a philosophy championed by Powerhouse, transporting rarely seen objects out of unseen archives and allowing visitors to connect with one of Australia’s most important applied arts and sciences collection of over half a million objects.
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The material palette throughout is minimalist and elemental, using raw materials including off-form concrete walls and concrete floors, covered in a milled aluminium finish that transforms with the weather and time of day to reflect its surroundings. The internal layers of the building are insulated to regulate temperature and humidity levels, creating a sustainable, flexible space for the storage, conservation and presentation of the Powerhouse collection as well as community programmes, research and learning spaces.
Powerhouse Castle Hill was also awarded the 2024 New South Wales Architecture Award for Public Architecture earlier this year.
Powerhouse Castle Hill is built by Australian construction company Taylor.
Powerhouse Chief Executive, Lisa Havilah said, ‘We are thrilled that Powerhouse Castle Hill has been awarded the Sir Zelman Cowen Award, the highest prize in Australian architecture. It sets a new international benchmark in bringing research, collection, conservation and community together in new ways, designed specifically for the Powerhouse Collection.’
Lahznimmo Architects Director, Andrew Nimmo said, ‘The material palette, both inside and out, is minimal and elemental, with the honest expression of materials on display to showcase their natural properties – including mill finish aluminium, off-form concrete walls and polished concrete floors.
‘We aimed for ‘beautiful utility’; a building with a calmness and cool precision, that would protect the Powerhouse Collection and functionally serve the activities within.’
For further information, visit https://powerhouse.com.au/visit/castle-hill
