Powerhouse Parramatta Opens 7 November 2026, Features Moreau Kusunoki, Genton Design

New Cultural Institution Opens in Western Sydney

Powerhouse Parramatta will open its doors on 7 November 2026 in Western Sydney, Australia. This project is the largest cultural infrastructure development in the country since the Sydney Opera House and marks Western Sydney’s first state cultural institution.

Franco-Japanese firm Moreau Kusunoki served as the lead designer, with Australian architecture firm Genton as the local architect. Arup contributed to the broader project team, while Infrastructure NSW delivered the project and Lendlease was the construction contractor.

The total project cost is $915 million, which also includes the delivery of a new collection storage facility at Castle Hill and the digitisation of over 371,000 objects from the Powerhouse Collection.

Inaugural Exhibition Program Details

The museum will launch with five major exhibitions, collectively presenting more than 3000 objects. These exhibitions cover design, science, technology, art, and First Nations knowledge. Four of the five opening exhibitions will be free to the public. "Task Eternal" is the only ticketed exhibition for adults, with free entry for visitors under 16 years old.

Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah stated that the program focuses on placing audiences at the center of the new museum, aiming to amplify community and create new opportunities. The museum's philanthropic funding target of $75 million has been surpassed, securing $80.28 million to date.

Key Exhibitions and Collaborations

Among the featured exhibitions is "Es Devlin: The Turning," marking the British artist and designer’s first major Australian presentation. This exhibition includes five installations exploring Devlin’s work across sculpture, architecture, film, language, and performance.

Notable installations include "Forest of Us," a mirrored maze, and "Memory Palace," which maps 75 millennia of human history. "Task Eternal," designed by Beijing-based OPEN Architecture, focuses on humanity's efforts to overcome gravity.

It features over 850 objects, covering aerospace engineering, science fiction, and design, including Leonardo da Vinci drawings, a NASA Moon rock, and a Qantas Avro 504K aircraft. A new immersive light work by James Turrell is also part of this exhibition.

Implications for Project Procurement and Specification

"Overflow" is a First Nations-led exhibition developed with seven Aboriginal organizations across New South Wales. It examines saltwater and freshwater systems through stories of species protection, flood mitigation, and cultural water rights, featuring cinematic work by Kamilaroi filmmaker Ivan Sen.

"The Dark," designed for children aged four to 12, was developed with theatre director Kip Williams, designer Elizabeth Gadsby, and costume/production designer Marg Horwell, using over 800 objects and First Nations animations. The final exhibition, "The Mall," designed with OMA/AMO, traces the shopping mall's architectural and cultural evolution from 1959.

For procurement directors and specifiers, this project highlights the scale and complexity of materials and FF&E required for major cultural institutions, offering insights into specifications for large-span structures, exhibition fit-outs, and publicly accessible installations within the Asia-Pacific region.