Powerhouse Ultimo Renewal Architectural Design Competition Winner Announced

The Museum of Applied Arts & Science has revealed the winning architectural design for the planned refurbishment of the Powerhouse Ultimo.

The winning concept was designed by Australian team Architectus, Durbach Block Jaggers Architects, Tyrrell Studio, Youssofzay + Hart, Akira Isogawa, Yerrabingin, Finding Infinity, and Arup. The winning team was selected unanimously from a shortlist of five architectural teams.

According to the winning design which drew inspiration from the cultural topography of the region, the main entrance to the Powerhouse Museum will be reoriented to face Chinatown and Darling Harbour.

There will be a rooftop garden as well as an event area and a new public plaza near the new entrance that will feature native species as part of its $480-$500 million refurbishment design plans.

Moreover, the 1998-built arched atrium extension and the old post office building, known as the Warn Building, will be demolished. In its place, a four-storey building will be built and will provide street-level access to a library and archives as well as upstairs accommodation for 60 school children that will include options to sleep under the stars in the rooftop garden.

“Our project acknowledges Country as our inspiration and narrator, restoring a natural and intuitive experience of the city; walking with, rather than on, Country,” the Design Statement reads..

“We propose a new relationship to the heritage fabric. ‘Leaning back’ to allow the full heritage facades to be seen, creating a continuous walkable sky-expanding gorge between old and new, from the Creative Courtyard to the Goods Line Terrace. The new building re-sees the heritage fabric and city beyond from multiple levels of this escarpment – from uses, circulation, terraces and gardens. Respectful and immediate, the new building lives alongside the Powerhouse core, a powerful embodiment of both geography and backdrop.”

Powerhouse Ultimo Renewal Architectural Design Competition Winner Announced — The winning design team: (Standing from left to right) **Alex Gelego**-Durbach Block Jaggers; **Dr Stephen Long**-Architectus; **David Jaggers**-Durbach Block Jaggers; **Neil Durbach**-Durbach Block Jaggers; **Luke Johnson**-Architectus; **Ross Harding**-Finding Infinity; **John Jeffrey-**Architectus; **Chris Mercer**-Arup. (Seated left to right) **Ruth Wilson**-Architectus; **Christian Hampson**-Yerrabingin; **Akira Isogawa**; **Mark Tyrrell**-Tyrrell Studio; **Camilla Block**-Durbach Block Jaggers; **Anne Kristin Risnes**-Durbach Block Jaggers; **Belqis Youssofzay**-Youssofzay + Hart | Photo Credit: Hugh Stewart-Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences/maas.museum

The Powerhouse Ultimo Design Competition was launched in July 2022 by the NSW Government. The two-stage competition brought together collaborative design teams with their own expansive concepts and ambitions and collaborate with the Powerhouse to deliver a generationally important cultural project.

More than 100 responses were received following a call for Expressions of Interest from which five design teams were shortlisted and invited to participate in the design competition which commenced in September 2022.