It is the contest that could pit the biggest non-union builder in NSW against the CFMEU and fundamentally alter the industry.

Second-tier builder Richard Crookes, which has defied the militant construction union to secure a landmark non-union agreement, was selected last week to face off against top-tier union builders, Lendlease and Multiplex, in a shortlist for the new Powerhouse Museum project in Parramatta budgeted at $840 million.