A heritage architect has alleged that his research into the heritage significance of Sydney's Powerhouse Museum was suppressed because it would have threatened a $500 million redevelopment plan. Alan Croker, who previously consulted on the Sydney Opera House, told Guardian Australia that his conservation management plan (CMP) recommended the entire Ultimo site be heritage listed.
Croker's company, Design 5, drafted the CMP in October 2021. He believes the findings were 'buried' because they were 'not what the powers that be wanted to know'. The recommendation would have blocked plans to demolish much of the museum, including the galleria housing Locomotive No 1 and the award-winning Wran wing.
The NSW government terminated Croker's contract and hired another company, which produced a final report in mid-2022 that allowed demolition of most 1980s additions. The government had initially planned to relocate the museum to Parramatta in 2015, but after public outcry, the plan was dropped and later readopted.
Proposed redevelopment plans show a third of existing buildings could be demolished and interiors gutted, despite warnings from the National Trust that the plans are 'intrusive and destructive'. Croker said he presented his preliminary findings in December 2021, but communication stalled, and public consultations were delayed. He alleges that a summary of consultations misrepresented public opposition as positive.
The architect stated, 'It's time somebody told the truth about what happened. This ongoing silence is not right.' The Powerhouse Museum and Create NSW have not commented on the allegations.
