Australian architecture studio lahznimmo architects was commissioned to design Powerhouse Castle Hill, a new warehouse for the museum that houses the Powerhouse Collection, located in Castle Hill, a city located 34 kilometres northwest of the central business district of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

The projected space is part of the Museum Discovery Centre, whose expansion seeks to solve the capacity problem of the previous complex, becoming a multifunctional space with a greater capacity to hold public exhibitions, improving the museum facilities and providing it with new services for the community of the northwest of Sydney.
The new facilities designed by lahznimmo architects are oriented from north to south, with an east-west access that separates the storage facilities from the exhibition and personnel areas, allowing pedestrian circulation throughout the plot. The program includes storage spaces for the collection, laboratories and work spaces for research and conservation, as well as spaces designed for education and public programs that offer great flexibility.

The rawness and simplicity of the chosen materials follow the line of the pre-existing industrial shed, showing its natural properties in tones ranging from white to gray and black. The corrugated aluminum skin opens and forms inward and outward folds that respond to internal activities, while it sits on a corrugated precast concrete base that protects the aluminum from the movements of vehicles on site.

Powerhouse Castle Hill by lahznimmo architects. Photograph by Rory Gardiner.
 

Project description by lahznimmo architects

Powerhouse Castle Hill is a storehouse for the Powerhouse Collection supporting research and conservation. It forms part of the Museum Discovery Centre, operated in partnership with the Australian Museum and the Museums of History New South Wales. The site housed six large storage sheds for the collection, that were reaching capacity. About 95% of the Powerhouse Collection is maintained in storage at any time, most of it at Castle Hill. In advance of the construction of Powerhouse Parramatta, more items were to be moved to Castle Hill, along with staff and ancillary functions such as conservation laboratories.

In 2018 CreateNSW engaged lahznimmo architects to design a new 9,000 sqm facility for:

-  Storage for the Powerhouse collection and archives
- Flexible spaces for education and public programs, workshops, talks,
- Exhibitions and events.
- Conservation laboratories and collection workspaces.
- Photography, digitisation and collection documentation facilities.
- Workspace for 50 staff and visiting researchers.
- Object and exhibition preparation, packing, quarantine and holding areas.



Powerhouse Castle Hill by lahznimmo architects. Photograph by Rory Gardiner.

Referred to as Building J, the new facilities provide an important public facing interface with Showground Road and merges into the broader site campus, including the adjacent TAFE. The new 130 metre long building is aligned north-south, with an east-west accessway separating the storage facilities from the exhibition and staff areas, and opening up pedestrian movements across the site.

The facilities in the building are multifaceted to serve the needs of a variety of user groups including staff, volunteers, education groups, researchers, artists, scientists, industry partners and the general public. It expands the site’s ability to hold public exhibitions, providing a much needed museum facility for the people of Sydney’s northwest; including a 10 metre high flexible exhibition space fronting the main entry.


Powerhouse Castle Hill by lahznimmo architects. Photograph by Rory Gardiner.

The collection store is permanently visible within the main entry vestibule, where a 3.5 metre high and 9 metre long frameless glazed opening allows public viewing into the 3000 sqm Very Large Object (VLO) storage area, housing Powerhouse Museum VLO objects such as planes, trains and automobiles.

The storage facility must maintain a constant temperature band between 200C +/- 20 C and relative humidity of 50 +/- 5% to protect the collection and is essentially designed like a large esky – with reflective aluminium cladding, over thermal insulation protecting precast concrete wall panels on the inside for thermal mass.


Powerhouse Castle Hill by lahznimmo architects. Photograph by Rory Gardiner.

The material palette throughout is minimal and elemental, with the raw expression of materials on display to showcase their natural properties – including mill finish aluminium, off-form concrete walls and polished concrete floors. The colour palette continues the cool tonal range from white, through greys to black.

The corrugated aluminium skin provides a singular utilitarian expression in the tradition of the industrial shed. It sits atop a corrugated precast concrete base that protects the aluminium from on-site vehicle movements. Openings within the aluminium skin are formed with folds in and out that respond to the activities within.

Electrical use is supplemented with a 100 kW roof mounted PV system. Roof water is collected for grey water uses, including toilet flushing.

More information

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Architects
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lahznimmo architects.
Director.- Andrew Nimmo.
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Project team
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Project Lead.- Brad Cogger.
Project Architect.- Patrick Love.
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Collaborators
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Structural, Hydraulic, Civil and Electrical Engineers.- Northrop Consulting Engineers.
Landscape Architect.- Aspect Studios.
Town Planner.- Milestone Town Planning.
Quantity Surveyor.- Donald Cant Watts Corke (NSW).
BCA Consultant.- Consult Code Solutions.
Arborist.- MacKay Tree Management.
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Client
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Powerhouse for CreateNSW.
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Builder
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Taylor Australia.
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Area
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8,100 sqm.
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Dates
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2023.
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Location
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Castle Hill, Sydney, Australia.
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Photography
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lahznimmo architects. Architecture studio founded by Andrew Nimmo and Annabel Lahz in 1994 based in Sydney, Australia. The studio is currently led by directors Andrew Nimmo, Annabel Lahz, Hugo Cottier and Brad Cogger.

The work of lahznimmo architects offers the advantage of the experience and capacity of a large studio with the personalized service and flexibility of a smaller studio. His work includes a wide range of projects at various scales, from small buildings to large buildings for public use. His projects are about creating uplifting environments for everyday life, offering places that people love, woven into the social, cultural and physical fabric of communities.

lahznimmo architects has received design excellence awards from the Australian Institute of Architects at state and national level for residential, commercial, public architecture and urban design projects.
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Published on: April 9, 2024
Cite: "A suggestive and shining new warehouse. Powerhouse Castle Hill by lahznimmo architects" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/a-suggestive-and-shining-new-warehouse-powerhouse-castle-hill-lahznimmo-architects> ISSN 1139-6415
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