The Powerhouse museum in Parramatta shows off its expressive exoskeleton
The new Powerhouse museum headquarters by Moreau Kusunoki begins to take shape in Sydney’s Parramatta, in Australia; we take a tour of the building site

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.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
‘Dr Tetris’ on the biggest ever iteration of the puzzle in London
Tetris comes to 360-degree, 23,000 sq ft, 16k LED screens in London; Craig McLean speaks to Henk Rogers, the man who’s kept the game alive
By Craig McLean Published
-
Hot news: Claridge’s Bakery is set to open this summer
Claridge’s, London’s grand dame of hotels, announces the opening of its very own bakery, led by British baker Richard Hart
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
New Superhouse show captures the rebellious spirit of Dan Friedman’s Manhattan apartment
In the late 1970s, graphic designer and artist Dan Friedman transformed his apartment into a Day-Glo laboratory of ideas. Now, a new exhibition at Superhouse in New York revisits his vibrant, rebellious world
By Ali Morris Published
-
A suburban house is expanded into two striking interconnected dwellings
Justin Mallia’s suburban house, a residential puzzle box in Melbourne’s Clifton Hill, interlocks old and new to enhance light, space and efficiency
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Palm Beach Tree House overhauls a cottage in Sydney’s Northern Beaches into a treetop retreat
Set above the surf, Palm Beach Tree House by Richard Coles Architecture sits in a desirable Northern Beaches suburb, creating a refined home in verdant surroundings
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Year in review: the top 12 houses of 2024, picked by architecture director Ellie Stathaki
The top 12 houses of 2024 comprise our finest and most read residential posts of the year, compiled by Wallpaper* architecture & environment director Ellie Stathaki
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A monolithic house in rural Victoria celebrates 50 shades of grey
Adam Kane Architects’ monolithic house in rural Victoria, Grey House, is ‘a testament to the power of simplicity and harmony’
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Is Rochester Street Office a creative worker’s dream? Inside a Sydney workspace echoing calmness and light
Rochester Street Office by Allied_Office merges utilitarian design with cascading vegetation, presenting a thriving environment for creativity and collaboration
By Tianna Williams Published
-
A Melbourne family home draws on classic modernism to create a pavilion in the landscape
This Melbourne family home by Vibe Design Group was inspired by midcentury design and shaped to be an extension of its verdant site
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Tour Clifton House, an airy Bondi family home, brimming with natural light and foliage
Clifton House by Anthony Gill Architects is a North Bondi home using an abundance of vegetation to create a slice of privacy within the suburbs
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Tour this compact Melbourne home, where a small footprint is big on efficiency and experimentation
Northcote House is designed by architects David Leggett and Paul Loh as their own home in Melbourne
By Stephen Crafti Published