A silver gelatin dry plate glass negative in landscape format.

Country Always

Caring for Country

A Corner of the Empire

The Garden Palace

Sepia photograph of the Technological Museum and a cow in the foreground

The Holding Pen

The Agricultural Hall

Sepia photograph of the Technological College and Museum in Broken Hill

Regional Networks

Across New South Wales

A Museum of Doing

Technological Museum

Black and white photograph of man walking through eucalyptus plantation

Expanding Stories

Evolution of the Castle Hill site from botanical research station to Museum Discovery Centre

Colour photograph of red corrugated iron building from a high vantage point

Transforming the Tramsheds

Powerhouse Stage 1 and the Harwood Building

A Symbol in Time

Sydney Observatory

Powerhouse Museum, Stage 2 exterior from high angle, city skyline in background

Ongoing Transformations

Powerhouse Ultimo

Blurred image from film with museum object number

Applied Arts and Sciences

Defining the terms in the 21st century

The curving cement, steel and glass exterior of the Australian PlantBank under a bright blue sky. The sky reflects on the building’s partially mirrored surfaces.

Powerhouse Renewal

Two people standing next to a cow in a field of cows.

Powerhouse Food: Producers

Across Western Sydney24 Aug 2024 — 25 Jul 2025

We Rise

Blak Powerhouse

A tall rocket with a long trail of burning fuel lifts off from a launchpad at Cape Canaveral.

Powerhouse-1 Mission Launch to the ISS

An initiative of the Powerhouse: Future Space program

Photofields

Across Sydney6—7 Dec
Shadows cast by the Powerhouse Parramatta exoskeleton on concrete

Exoskeleton

Powerhouse Parramatta

A woman stands on stage in front of a large audience. She has her left hand raised in the air and a microphone in her right hand. The audience are holding their phones up recording the woman.

Blak Powerhouse

Powerhouse x We Are Warriors

Slider thumb2023
The curving cement, steel and glass exterior of the Australian PlantBank under a bright blue sky. The sky reflects on the building’s partially mirrored surfaces.
ProgramSydney Design Week 2023Eco Systems

Australian PlantBank

Tag iconTour
when
Ended 17 Sept 2023
when
2 sessions
price
$12—$15
where
Australian Botanic Gardens

This tour of the Australian PlantBank led by Peter Titmuss, architect and principal at BVN and John Siemon, director of horticulture and living collections at the Botanic Gardens of Sydney, will highlight the unique design of the PlantBank and its science conservation programs.

PlantBank is the award-winning home of plant conservation research and germplasm collection and storage in New South Wales. The seed and tissue culture collections provide an insurance policy against extinction of native plants in the wild. 

BVN designed the building to integrate with and respond to the landscape, environment and operational needs. It was recognised with the RAIA National Award for Sustainable Architecture in 2014. The surrounding landscaping designed by 360 Degrees Landscape Architects and the horticultural and botanical specialists at The Australian Botanic Garden presents a unified and accessible view of conservation science to visitors. There are three gardens in this landscape: the courtyard gardens set within the curving forms of the building, the bushland transition ‘meadow gardens,’ and the surrounding Cumberland Plain Woodland. The PlantBank gardens provide a direct link to the ecosystems that occur just beyond the footprint of the institute.

Speakers

John Siemon is a horticultural scientist and the director of horticulture Botanic Gardens ofSydney where he leads a passionate team responsible for projects across more than 730 hectares of public greenspace. One of his greatest achievements has been helping to establish the Australian PlantBank, home to more than 100 million Australian plant seeds. He was responsible for securing $19.8 million funding which has helped transform the facility into a vital insurance policy against the extinction of native plants in the wild.

Peter Titmuss is a principal at BVN, where he champions the architecture firm’s weekly design conversations through which the wider practice is invited to consult on live projects, enabling cross sector and whole of practice collaboration. Contributing his time, enthusiasm and knowledge to the broader industry, Titmuss is an active participant on the NSW Government Architect’s State Design Review Panel.

Supported by