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

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

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 thumb2024

Revitalising Ultimo

Powerhouse Ultimo is being revitalised to deliver expanded museum exhibition and learning spaces within a new dynamic creative industries precinct for Sydney.

The NSW Government’s $250 million investment in a heritage renewal of Powerhouse Ultimo will reorient the museum’s main entrance and create a new public square and entry via The Goods Line to enable better connection with surrounding precincts and public transport.

Visitors will benefit from improved exhibition and programming spaces which will allow the museum to accommodate international exhibitions and increase the community’s access to the renowned Powerhouse Collection of more than 500,000 objects.

The visitor experience will be improved through easier visitor circulation, expanded programming, and increase its use for the community.

Key Features

Key features of the Powerhouse Museum Ultimo design include:

Four flexible, dynamic exhibition spaces that allow the museum to create and present high quality, internationally leading museum exhibitions across the applied arts and applied sciences and featuring the Powerhouse Collection.
New public domain spaces including a 2000 sqm at the northern end of The Goods Line, the Post Office Courtyard on Harris Street and an internal courtyard accessible from Macarthur Street.
Establishing one central, intuitive and accessible visitor circulation system to access exhibition, program and education spaces to support a high-quality visitor experience.
Reorienting the museum’s entrance to the Goods Line, improving access from the light rail and Darling Square. A newly activated façade housing creative industries along Harris Street, which will improve the museum’s contribution to the Ultimo streetscape.
Separating front-of-house and back-of-house operations from exhibition and circulation spaces.
Dedicated spaces designed for Powerhouse learning programs, enabling the museum to create immersive educational experiences, workshops and programs catered to students and learners of all ages.
Conservation of the heritage-listed original Power Station buildings for their ongoing adaptive reuse by Powerhouse.

The NSW Government will carefully consider all submissions on the revitalised designs to ensure the community’s voice is actively incorporated into the future of Powerhouse Ultimo.

Five formal consultation periods for the project have been held between 2020 and 2024, with the sixth underway. Each has included engagement with the local community, neighbours, stakeholders, government authorities and agencies. The feedback received has been considered during the evolution of the project. Engagement with the community will continue during upcoming phases of the project, including detailed design, construction and operation. All feedback has been used to help inform the current EIS, as part of the SSDA.

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Information Fact Sheets

State Significant Development Application

To view the State Significant Development Application (SSDA) and supporting Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and make a submission by 30 May 2024, visit the following link

VisitExternal link

More information

Infrastructure NSW is available to support the community to understand the detailed and technical information through community information sessions held throughout the Public Exhibition period. Visit Infrastructure NSW's website for more information or to book a session.

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Design Team

Architectus, Durbach Block Jaggers Architects, Tyrrell Studio, Youssofzay + Hart, Akira Isogawa, Yerrabingin, Finding Infinity and Arup

Durbach Block Jaggers Architects are proven design innovators and authors of some of our country’s most remarkable buildings. Architectus brings the best experience and attitude together to design and deliver Australia’s most complex precincts and cultural projects. Tyrrell Studio guides an urban design and landscape architectural response informed by the precinct and by place. Emerging Sydney practice Youssofzay + Hart use their philosophy of creating equitable, accessible and enjoyable spaces for all. Renowned Australian fashion designer Akira Isogawa is our provocateur and collaborator. Yerrabingin is coach, advisor and collaborator, embedding our approach to Design With Country. Finding Infinity pushes the sustainability agenda to achieve world-leading results. Arup’s venues team provide specialist arts and culture design expertise and experience.

This design is an exemplar of adaptive heritage reuse which will deliver new and expanded spaces enabling Powerhouse Ultimo to present more exhibitions showcasing the museum’s significant collection, as well as more international exclusive exhibitions and programs that support the applied sciences, applied arts and creative industries.

A group of people stand and sit on a beige background. Some look at the camera while others look candidly at each other.

Design Team

History of Powerhouse Ultimo

Campaign Supporters

A group of people pose for a photo standing in a line, they smile at the camera and each other. They are in a workshop space.

Foundation University Partner, the University of Technology Sydney, has committed $10 million to Powerhouse Ultimo, a significant investment that will help boldly reimagine the Ultimo precinct. The institutions will work together to foster a dynamic creative industry ecology and expand the international profile of Australian design and fashion both nationally and internationally.

UTS will become a supporting partner of the Powerhouse Ultimo Creative Industries Academy, which will house an immersive education and professional hub connecting local and regional students with industry leaders and work experience opportunities.

First Nations will be a key collaborative focus area, establishing joint programs with the future UTS Indigenous Residential College and integrating the UTS Galuwa Experience (an existing program for Indigenous high school students) into broader First Nations programming at Powerhouse Ultimo.

Research will be another core focus, aiming to expand original research and industry development across the creative industries sector, made accessible via Powerhouse public programs. UTS research students will have opportunities to collaborate with Powerhouse Residents and use the resources of the Powerhouse Archives.