SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

The design for the large

exterior glass walls was also
left in the hands of the
appointed architects. They are
supported by vertical steel
mullions which extend all the
way up the mouth of the shells.
Between 1957-1963 in the midst of the
Bronze glazing bars run from construction of the podium, Utzon and
these mullions to help support Arup worked on developing a shell system
the 2000 panes of glass, which that would make the original spherical
was designed by Ove Arup & scheme structurally possible. Twelve
Partners, and consists of two iterations later, they came up with a
layers of glass joined by an solution that consisted of a ribbed
interlayer of plastic in order system of precast concrete shells
created from sections of a sphere.
to strengthen the windows and This system permitted each rib to be built
provide better sound up of a number of standard segments cast
insulation. the glass allows in a common mold at the site. Utzon
for maximum views all round wanted the shells to be portrayed like
from the foyers to the harbour. large whiTe sails in contrast to the deep
blue waters of the ocean it stood upon. In
order to achieve this aesthetic the shells
are covered with 1,056,066 ceramic tiles
made in Sweden from clay and crushed
stone. Along with the placement of the
tiles, it took eleven years to complete the
iconic roof structure.

At the third and final stage of the project under

the supervision of the newly appointed
architects Utzon's original design was
signifcantly changed. At the request of the
Australian Broadcasting Commission the
proposed main hall that was originally designed
as a multipurpose opera/concert became a space
solely for concerts, thus titled the Concert
Hall which is able to accomodate 2,800 people.
The minor hall, originally intended for stage
productions, was changed to house operas and The building was completed and opened by Queen Elizabeth II in October of
ballets and was called the Opera Theatre. 1973. With an original estimate of 7 million dollars the budget was vastly
Grand external staircases lead into the two exceeded with a final cost of 102 million dollars. In 1989 the government
these two main auditoriums marking an entrance was informed the opera house would need repairs that would cost
that visitors are unlikely to forget. Due to the approximately 86 million dollars due to fallen tiles and deterioration of
switch of the main halls, however, the Opera the structural ribs.
Theatre is now too small to stage large opera However this excessive cost was the price paid in order to turn the Sydney Opera
and ballet productions. Three smaller theatres, House into monument of technology, society, and the world during the 20th century.
a library, and a cinema were also added to the
original design along with three restaurants, six In 2007 it was made a UNESCO
bars, and sixty dressing rooms. The building has a World Heritage Site, along with
total of 1000 rooms with access through a ancient landmarks such as the
concourse that encircles the entire building Stonehedge. In 2003 Jørn Utzon was
and links the five performance spaces. awarded the Pritzker Prize five years
before his death in 2008.

PRECAST CONCRETE SHELLS Due to the political issues that led to his
WERE DERIVED FROM SECTIONS OF resignation years before, the architect never
A SPHERE FOR WORKABILITY returned to Australia to experience his finished
masterpiece that is regarded as one of the
MAJOR HALL: greatest structures ever created.
SECTIONS DEMONSTRATING THE GEOMETRICAL PRINCIPLE
APPLIED IN DESIGNING FOR ACOUSTICS
(Zodiac, no. 14, 1965).

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