In a significant achievement for Australian public architecture, Powerhouse Castle Hill has been awarded the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture at the 2024 National Architecture Awards celebrating the advancement of architecture across Australia.

The 130-metre-long facility provides a versatile space for storage, exhibitions, research, events, conservation, photography, and archives. It forms part of the Museums Discovery Centre, operated in partnership with the Australian Museum and the Museums of History New South Wales.

Northrop provided Civil, Structural, Building Services and Sustainability consulting for the facility expansion, housing the diverse collection of more than 500,000 arts, design and technology objects.

The variety of spaces, including wet lab environments, gallery and storage facilities, required close collaboration using 3D modelling to ensure accuracy between systems. Our consulting teams working together from the onset to ensure that the ventilation, humidity and thermal controls were optimised for guest comfort and preservation of the artefacts.

Our Sustainability team consistently implement measures which would reduce the upfront carbon for the project, remove fossil fuels on site and mitigate the effects of climate change on the building for years to come.

A huge congratulations to all of our teams involved in this project which has been recognised by winning this prestigious award.