Sydney Opera House

“I believe that the choice of Jørn Utzon is important because [he] made a building well ahead of its time, far ahead of available technology, and he persevered through extraordinary, malicious publicity and negative criticism to build a building that changed the image of an entire country."

- Frank Gehry, Architect and Pritzker juror

(Architecture Week)

The Architect: Jørn Utzon

The Danish architect that entered the international competition for designing Sydney’s Opera House, Jørn Utzon , was an unlikely choice for the winner.  The input of one juror convinced the others to choose his design, though it required advanced computer technology that was expensive and not easily accessible at the time.  Utzon’s creativity and ability to create such designs was inherited from his father, a naval architect, and was passed on to his son and his two grandchildren who each became architects also.  In 1966, Utzon became frustrated with the politics and criticism he was receiving from the public and withdrew from the creation of his opera house.  His contribution to Sydney lives on, however, in the iconic structure of the Opera House. 

History and Culture

·         Australia held a competition in 1957 for the opera house design after WWII

·         The country wanted an iconic structure to represent the city of Sydney and the entire country of Australia –much like Eiffel Tower is to Paris, and  the pyramids to Egypt

·         Opened by Queen Elizabeth II on October 20, 1973

·         The design of the opera house was inspired by Yucatan culture of the Mayans

Construction

·         Initially construction costs were estimated at $7 million and a timeline of about 5 years beginning in 1959

·         Utzon’s design required technology ahead of its time and over 10,000 construction workers in 14 years

·         The entire project was $102 billion after completion and mainly funded by lottery

·         Roof sections weigh up to 15 tons

·         Over 1 million tiles on the roof

·         Roof sections are held together by 350 km of tensioned steel cable

Events

·         Hosts 3,000 events each year

·         Over 200,000 people take guided tours every year

·         2 million people attend performances

Location

·         Bennelong Point, Sydney Harbour

·         Surrounded by water on three sides, including Farm Cove and Sydney Cove

·         Located near Sydney’s Royal Botanical Gardents and the Government House

Elizabeth Anderson

For Professors Nesiba and Gardner

December 28, 2010

In partial fulfillment of

requirements for

ECON 297/BSAD 420

Australia in the Global Economy

Works Cited

Jørn Utzon Pritzker Prize. ArchitectureWeek. Artifice, Inc., 16 Apr 1993. Web. 21 Dec 2010.

Opera House, Sydney. A View On Cities. N.p., 2010. Web. 23 Dec 2010.

Sydney Opera House. Culture.gov.au. Commonwealth of Australia, 2010. Web. 23 Dec 2010.

Potts, Joanna. Australia. Long Island City, NY: Langenscheidt Publishers, Inc., 2009. Print.