Science House, Historic commercial building in The Rocks, Sydney, Australia

Science House occupies the south-western corner of Gloucester and Essex Streets at Church Hill. Its six-storey concrete-encased steel frame carries non-loadbearing masonry walls. The facades follow the Inter-war Commercial Palazzo style, with a two-storey ashlar sandstone base, a piano nobile of three floors and an attic storey; semicircular windows with metal grilles rise through two storeys on Gloucester Street.

Science House grew from a plan discussed since the 1870s for a shared scientific headquarters; a committee formed in 1905, but war and lack of funds delayed it until 1926, when the Royal Society of NSW, the Institution of Engineers and the Linnaean Society formed a joint committee. The government granted the Essex and Gloucester Streets corner in July 1927, and a 1928 competition won by Peddle Thorp & Walker led to construction by John Grant and Sons, who kept to the £45,000 budget. Governor Sir Philip Game opened it on 7 May 1931.

The building's name reflects its original role as a shared headquarters for scientific bodies. From 1978 to 1991 it was known as Sports House, when the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation occupied it and the Hall of Champions sports museum was installed in 1982. The large auditorium continued to host talks during that period.

Science House occupies the south-western corner of Gloucester and Essex Streets at Church Hill in The Rocks. The ground floor and first floor form the exaggerated base, with the main entrance and lecture halls reached from street level; the upper floors are served by lifts. The concrete-encased steel frame was built with capacity for extra storeys and an additional lift.

The building received the first Sir John Sulman Medal from the Council of the Institute of Architects of NSW in 1933 for its architectural quality. This was a major award recognizing innovative design in Australia.