Media Release
Powerhouse Castle Hill Wins Prestigious National Architecture Award
Powerhouse Castle Hill was awarded the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture last night, Thursday 7 November at the 2024 National Architecture Awards. Designed by Sydney-based Lahznimmo Architects, built by Australian construction company Taylor and delivered in partnership with Create NSW, Powerhouse Castle Hill is the new state-of-the-art facility for the Powerhouse Collection which opened in March 2024.
Presented by the Australian Institute of Architects, the prestigious public architecture award recognises Powerhouse Castle Hill as ‘an exemplar of architecture as an interface between the public and research, preservation and curation’.
The Jury citation also described the building as one which ‘invites curiosity – placing architecture as a vehicle for experience, both fascinating and cerebral’.
The $44 million development at Castle Hill is part of a $1.3 billion transformation of Powerhouse, led by the creation of Powerhouse Parramatta, one of the world’s most significant new museum developments, set open in 2026.
Powerhouse Castle Hill represents a reshaping of museum practice to increase accessibility to collections and connection to local communities, allowing visitors to enjoy one of Australia’s most important applied arts and sciences collection of over half a million objects.
At more than 8,000sqm, Powerhouse Castle Hill has been constructed to international museum standards and features a visible store, allowing public viewing into the 3,000 sqm Very Large Object storage area holding the museum’s transport collection. It also features one of the southern hemisphere's largest photographic cycloramas that can carry objects up to 4 tonnes and enable the ongoing digitisation of the collection.
Powerhouse Castle Hill was also awarded the 2024 New South Wales Architecture Award for Public Architecture earlier this year.
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.’
Powerhouse Castle Hill is open every weekend 10am–4pm.
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About Powerhouse
Powerhouse sits at the intersection of arts, design, science and technology and plays a critical role in engaging communities with contemporary ideas and issues. We are undertaking a landmark $1.2 billion infrastructure renewal program, spearheaded by the creation of the new museum, Powerhouse Parramatta; expanded research and public facilities at Powerhouse Castle Hill; the renewal of the iconic Powerhouse Ultimo; and the ongoing operation of Sydney Observatory. The museum is custodian to over half a million objects of national and international significance and is considered one of the finest and most diverse collections in Australia. We are also undertaking an expansive digitisation project that will provide new levels of access to the Powerhouse Collection.
About Lahznimmo Architects
Lahznimmo Architects is a Sydney based design studio specialising in the design of public buildings and urban spaces, creating spaces woven into the social, cultural and physical fabrics of communities. Lahznimmo have worked on a diverse range of projects at a variety of scales, from small community buildings for local councils to large complex educational and cultural buildings for Government and University bodies.
Lahznimmo has received design excellence awards from the Australian Institute of Architects at both State and National levels for Residential, Commercial, Public Architecture and Urban Design projects. The practice has also received the Australian Institute of Architects National Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design on three occasions. The design of Powerhouse Castle Hill has earned Lahznimmo Architects a nomination in the Australian Institute of Architects 2024 New South Wales Architecture Awards in the category of Public Architecture.