The Powerhouse Museum is set to receive a top-to-bottom makeover thanks to a huge injection of investment. The NSW Government announced on Tuesday that it would spend almost half a billion dollars on the major redevelopment of the cultural institution that has stood on the site of the historic Ultimo Powerstation since 1988.
This is a dramatic about-face in the fate of the beloved museum of applied arts and sciences, which was saved just shy of a year ago after an initial decision to shut its doors for good and relocate its collection to a new facility in Parramatta. The Powerhouse had previously spent six years in limbo as a government plan to tear down the heritage building and sell off the land to apartment developers was met by huge community opposition.
This will be the first major government investment in the Powerhouse since it was founded. The total spend on the Ultimo regeneration (estimated to be approximately $480 million), the new museum in Parramatta (which is still going ahead) and plans to expand the institution’s Castle Hill Discovery Centre is set to exceed $1.4 billion. This sum represents the biggest investment in a single cultural institution in the state since the commissioning and construction of the Sydney Opera House, which had run up a bill of $102 million in total by the time it opened in 1973.
A design competition will be held this year to find an architectural team to take the lead on the facelift and expansion. The plan is for the revamped Ultimo museum to have a main (but not exclusive) focus on fashion and design while the Parramatta location will primarily focus on science and technology. The process of selecting a designer and locking in a builder is expected to take the better part of a year, and a timeline for completion will be announced thereafter. The plan is to keep the Ultimo location open throughout the process, and only commence major works once the Parramatta branch is open (this is due to happen in 2023) so at least one location will be open to the public at all times. In the end, Sydney is due to have not one, but two fresh world-class museums, which is a clear win for the city.