Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House

Designed by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, the Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous and well received buildings in the world. Situated on Bennelong Point, the building is visible across Sydney Harbor on 3 sides. In 2007 the building was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site and is one of only 3 20th century buildings to be given such status.

The building we know today marks over 20 years of design and planning. Utzon’s design was reportedly salvaged after being discarded and was little more than conceptual drawings. If I recall correctly The building was supposed to cost million dollars and take years to build, however it ended up costing 102 million and taking 16 years. Part of the reason for rampant overages was that estimates were done for a building that no one knew how to build. In a time with out computers complex geometries such as the roof structures were extremely hard to calculate. Parts of the building were being built with out knowing how it would be finished. At one point Utzon even accepted defeat, but in the end the solution proved to be surprisingly simple. The concrete ribs to support the roof were all derived as different length pieces from a common sphere. This allowed for only one radius to be calculated, and therefore only one set of formwork. The store however doesn’t end here, as a new government took office in Australia, the project met increasing pressure to finish as quickly and as cheaply as possible. This ultimately lead to disputes between Utzon and government officials and he was asked to step down or leave. Utzon left for denmark never to return to Sydney. He died in 2008 never having stepped inside the building that made him famous.

Few people realize that the Sydney Opera House is actually 5 different theaters and that for 5 months of the year, Opera isn’t even run, but rather ballet. I must also say that besides the two large theaters the other ones are very unimpressive and I would be very upset to shell out $70 for a ticket in one of these back room theaters. Apparently though, that won’t really be an issue as tickets are usually purchased years in advance.

One of the things that you have to keep in mind about this building as that while the design is truly amazing from the distance, up close it really holds a lot of the not so good qualities of buildings designed in the 50’s and 60’s. The entrance for one is really atrocious in my mind, essentially being underground. A driveway leads under something like the largest freely supported concrete span in the world, which sounds pretty cool until you realize it has no point. The entrance sort of gives the vibe of entering old Riverfront Stadium from the parking garage, a feeling that is aided greatly by the stark concrete walls that lift the building up from the harbor walk. Once you find the entrance you are so clearly pushed through the classic compression and release technique designed to make the entrance really powerful. I have to say that it works remarkably well, the entrance leads to a stair of which the low concrete ceiling completely blocks the view beyond. The view is slowly revealed as you ascend the stairs, with great effect, but I have problems looking past how absurdly plain and ugly the entrance is, regardless of its spatial effect. The building is also consistently furnished with absolutely ridiculously awful red and purple carpet. Thankfully though there’s plenty more the building does to perfection.