Secret 2014 report warned NSW government the Powerhouse Museum needed a major overhaul
THE Powerhouse Museum is riddled with water leaks, widespread mould and “unacceptable” odours emanating from its sewerage system.
NSW
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A SECRET report warned the government the Powerhouse Museum was riddled with problems including water leaks, mould, compliance issues and an inability to secure “blockbuster” exhibitions that meant its core functions would be “compromised” without a major overhaul.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that it was this explosive report — outlining the full list of defects at the Ultimo facility and the cost of associated repairs — that informed the government’s decision to move the museum to a new site at Parramatta.
The report was commissioned in 2014 by the Museum of Arts and Applied Sciences Trust, finding that a renewal of the Ultimo site would have cost $350.4 million at the time, an assessment undertaken in line with NSW Treasury guidelines.
Sources say the government now believes that the estimated cost of refurbishing the current Powerhouse has risen to more than $500 million.
An excerpt of the report sighted by The Daily Telegraph is scathing in its assessment of the shortcomings of the inner-city museum, describing the Powerhouse facilities as “substandard”.
“Without fundamental change, the ability of the Museum to carry out its core functions will continue to be compromised,” it says.
The Daily Telegraph has been advised there have been no significant renovations to address the issues cited in the 2014 report.
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The excerpts note an earlier stocktake had found mould on 200 items in the collection and that “ongoing water leaks” had been logged in both the heritage and Wran buildings, which also do not meet current building codes.
“Existing infrastructure is reaching the end of its useful life and will need urgent replacement in the short to medium term,” the report says, noting the main roof is “corroding”.
It finds gallery spaces are “highly compromised” by “structural pillars and beams” making the presentation of oversized objects “not possible” in many spaces and “highly compromised in others”, also noting “noise sharing issues”.
The report also identifies public safety and security risks at the Powerhouse, noting that public access through the museum’s operational thoroughfares is high.
It is critical of substandard education facilities, saying the museum could not fulfil its requirement to provide a comprehensive education program in support of the state curriculum due to a “lack of facilities such as teaching environments and modern technologies”.
Substandard facilities also limited the Powerhouse’s ability to secure international loans and “blockbuster” exhibitions, it says.
The report notes the museum received “regular customer complaints” about worn seating, worn carpet and “unacceptable odours from the sewerage system” and repeated building leaks.
There is also “regular and persistent” customer feedback that identifies a “lack of any coherent path of travel through the building”.
And, cuttingly: “The original purpose of the museum, its subsequent reconfiguration and age of its existing facilities has resulted in a museum which lacks presence, is uninviting and does not deliver a contemporary cultural experience”.
The information contained in this report undermines calls from inner-city elites who are loudly opposing the relocation of the museum to Parramatta.
Labor’s Luke Foley has backtracked on supporting the Parramatta move and now believes a “better plan” than moving the museum would be to leave it at Ultimo and give the west a “performance space”.
The Daily Telegraph revealed on Saturday that the government’s preferred plan for the relocation involves leaving a collection of fashion and design at an Ultimo facility and turning the Parramatta museum into a science/technology destination.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has been intent on sending the “best to the west” under the relocation, convinced by a need to invest in Western Sydney and bridge its longstanding cultural gap.