The architecture connects the city with the river, providing generous public space and creating an open 24-hour precinct that engages locals and visitors.
– Moreau Kusunoki

Moreau Kusunoki Architects, working with local firm Genton, have won a competition to transform Sydney's Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences with a design aimed at challenging the perception of a conventional museum.

The new Powerhouse Parramatta venue is envisaged as a multi-functional "hyper-platform" comprising seven flexible spaces that will allow the museum to host a variety of exhibitions and immersive experiences, as well as showcase its collection.

Beyond its cultural offering, the destination is conceived to be a "transparent urban lounge" that will welcome Sydney's diverse communities to riverfront 24-hours public spaces and will be fluidly connected with the surrounding streets.

In line with its progressive programming concepts, the building's design features a latticed exoskeleton that will give it a striking aesthetic, allowing passersby to see glimpses of what is going on inside and giving those inside views of the city and river.

The pattern of the lattice façade will change at each level, becoming more permeable towards the top, while it will also help to minimise the building's weight and carbon footprint.

Moreau Kusunoki said: "We envisage the Powerhouse Parramatta as a hyper-platform, a building with limitless potential which continuously evolves. The built form treads lightly on the site, creating a porous ground plane.

"The architecture connects the city with the river, providing generous public space and creating an open 24-hour precinct that engages locals and visitors.

"The flexible and dynamic presentation spaces are linked through transparent connecting spaces, which offer a quiet place for reflection, a lively place for interaction, a safe, neutral space for meetings and the creation of new shared memories.

"The Powerhouse will transcend scale to exist simultaneously as both intimate and iconic."

Moreau Kusunoki Architects and Genton saw off competition from over 70 other teams to win the Powerhouse Precinct at Parramatta International Design Competition.

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