The new Powerhouse museum's headquarters in Parramatta, Sydney, have been taking shape – the building's bold, metal façade grid slowly coming off the ground to a design by Franco-Japanese architects Moreau Kusunoki, with Australian architects Genton. The team is hoping this will be a key cultural space for its immediate neighbourhood – forming part of a bustling future Central Business District – as well as for the region's communities, and the country as a whole.
Moreau Kusunoki, whose work includes the recent residential timber tower in Paris, took its signature sensitive yet bold approach here too – crafting an eye-catching but sustainability-led design for Australia's leading cultural institution.
Powerhouse museum in Parramatta: watch the film
The scheme is defined by its steel exoskeleton grid – made of sustainable, recycled material. The white steel latticing plays a dual role – both an aesthetic one, forming the building's visual identity, and a structural one, as its main framework. It is being realised with the help of the expertise of Arup engineer Kengo Takamatsu.
Moreau Kusunoki’s architectural statement articulates: 'The lattice design that we refer to as the exoskeleton emerged out of our discussions with the distinguished Tokyo University professor of engineering, Jun Sato.'
'The geometry of this lattice structure greatly reduces the amount of material needed to support the building’s physical load, as well as lightening the material presence of the steel. The design highlights the porous relationship with the surrounding neighbourhood. It also serves as a means of keeping the building’s elements at a human scale.'
Powerhouse in Parramatta is currently Australia’s largest cultural infrastructure development since the Sydney Opera House, and it will include gallery, office and education spaces, as well as apartments to be used for artist residencies.
The organisation is headed by chief executive of the Powerhouse Sydney, Lisa Havilah, who oversees the project. The building is scheduled to open in 2025.
-
Elmgreen & Dragset explore contemporary masculinity in ParisWe visit Elmgreen & Dragset at their Berlin studio ahead of new exhibition ‘L’Addition’ at Paris’ Musée d’Orsay, a subversive take on the classical form
-
The new Dacia Bigster SUV exudes the brand's focus on value, utility and functional designDavid Durand, design director at Dacia, tells Wallpaper* about the Dacia Bigster, the car maker’s first full-sized SUV
-
Fall in New York? Artist Francesco Clemente and chef Daniel Humm have designed a destination bar worth making the trip forFrancesco Clemente has created a suite of magical friezes for the Clemente Bar, which opens at Daniel Humm’s Eleven Madison Park restaurant in New York this week
-
Tour Clifton House, an airy Bondi family home, brimming with natural light and foliageClifton House by Anthony Gill Architects is a North Bondi home using an abundance of vegetation to create a slice of privacy within the suburbs
-
Tour this compact Melbourne home, where a small footprint is big on efficiency and experimentationNorthcote House is designed by architects David Leggett and Paul Loh as their own home in Melbourne
-
Bridging Boyd is the rebirth of a modernist Melbourne homeBridging Boyd by Jolson is a modernist Melbourne home reimagined for the 21st century
-
This Sydney house is a family's stylish seaside sanctuaryThis Sydney house is a young family's suburban dream come true thanks to Alexandra Kidd Interior Design and Rich Carr Architects
-
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024: meet the practicesIn the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024, our latest guide to exciting, emerging practices from around the world, 20 young studios show off their projects and passion
-
Peek inside this secluded rural Australian retreat by Alexander Symes, in sync with natureBased in Sydney, Alexander Symes Architect joins the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024, our annual round-up of exciting emerging architecture studios
-
At the heart of Sydney Metro’s expanded Central Station lies a spectacular new public spaceThe new extension to the Sydney Metro, designed by Woods Bagot in collaboration with John McAslan + Partners, can now be accessed beneath its monumental roof structure above the city’s historic Central Station
-
Proclamation House is a hempcrete urban sculpture nestled under peppermint treesBuilt from hempcrete and stone, Proclamation House, a sculpturally angular build in Perth, Western Australia, carves out an intriguing niche on a quiet suburban street
