Entertainment Hall White Bay | DunnHillam Architecture + Urban Design with Placemaking NSW

DunnHillam Architecture + Urban Design’s refurbishment of the Switch House at White Bay Power Station demonstrates how strategic minimal intervention can unlock the cultural potential of industrial heritage. The project transforms the Level 3 Entertainment Hall from a 50-person space into a 200-person cultural venue, complete with restored 1940s murals, inaugurated by the 2026 Biennale of Sydney. Guided by the principle of ‘as little as possible but as much as necessary’, new elements float within the heritage envelope: a hovering Battery Room floor, removable bathroom pods, and fire-rated insertions legible as contemporary additions. A second egress path threads through existing spaces via the original central stair, avoiding new circulation entirely. Working closely with Placemaking NSW, the project activates Sydney’s only intact coal-fired power station for public life, proving that restrained, reversible design can deliver significant cultural infrastructure within constrained budgets.