Designing an Icon: 10 Things to Know About The Sydney Opera House Architects

Designing an icon; 10 things to know about the Sydney Opera House architects

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts center in Sydney. It is located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour and is regarded as one of the world’s most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architecture. The building was designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon but was later completed by an Australian architectural team. The building was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth 11 on 20th October 1973.

It comprises multiple performance venues which can host over 1500 performances in a year and can host more than 1.2 million people. It is also an attraction site in Australia which is visited by more than 8 million people annually. The building is managed by the Sydney Opera House Trust an agency of the New South Wales state government. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007.

1. Sydney House was Designed by Danish Architect Jørn Utzon

Jørn Utzon designed Sydney opera house. It was this time when he was 38 years old that he became famous after he was announced the winner of the international competition to design a ‘national opera house’ for Sydney’s Bennelong Point in 1957. 

Before the Sydney Opera House competition, Jorn Utzon had won seven of the 18 competitions he had participated had never seen any of his designs built. Utzon reviewed the design which he completed in 1961which was the basis for the landmark.

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2. Sydney Opera House is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sydney Opera House was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site on 28th June 2007. The organization describes it as a ‘great urban sculpture set in a remarkable waterscape, at the tip of a peninsula projecting into Sydney Harbour”  It is a masterpiece of late modern architecture by Jørn Utzon which inspired and pushed architecture and engineering to new limits and besides that, it had an enduring influence on the late 20th-century architecture and beyond. It brings together multiple strands of being creative and innovative in both architectural form and structural design.

Other than being listed on the UNESCO World Heritage it was previously listed on the Register of the National Estate in 1980 the National Trust of Australia in 1983 the City of Sydney Heritage Inventory in 2000 and the Australian National Heritage list since 2005.

3. Sydney Opera House Performance Venues

Sydney Opera House has a variety of performance venues which include Concert Hall, Joan Sutherland Theatre with approximately 1507 seats, Drama Theatre a proscenium theatre with 544 seats, Playhouse a non- proscenium end- stage theater with 398 seats, studio which has a flexible space with 280 permanent seats, Utzon Room a small multi-purpose venue for parties which has corporate functions and small productions, Recording studio, and an Outdoor Forecourt.

The building also has Northern and Western foyers which are used for occasional performances. Other than these venues, the building also has restaurants, cafes, shops, and bars.

4. Utzon the Designer Left the Project in 1966

 Jorn Utzon the initial designer of the Sydney Opera House was not the one who completed the project. He left after some disagreement.

The project was later handed over to the Austrian architectural team who made significant changes to Utzon’s original design to complete the construction.

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5. Celebrities and Ceremonies Which have been Held

In 1980, the concert Hall in the Sydney Opera House is where Arnold Schwarzenegger won his final Mr. Olympia bodybuilding title. In 1987, Pope John Paul 11 also took the space of the concert hall. In 1990, Freed Nelson Mandela addressed a crowd of about 40,000 people on the Opera House’s Monumental Steps and many others.

In 1988 when Australia was celebrating its bicentenary, the forecourt of Sydney Opera House became a venue for sheep shearing and ski jumping into the harbor. Today, it remains Australia’s top tourism destination and welcomes about 11 million visitors annually.

6. 233 Designs were Submitted for the Opera House’s International Design Competition

Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Jorn Utzon submitted his drawings days before the competition was closed as entry number 218 out of 233. Of all the submissions submitted Jorn Utzon’s drawing was considered the best after being rejected three times.

The man assigned to judge the entries was called Euro Saarinen. Danish architect Jorn Utzon was announced the winner in 1957 and was awarded 5,000 pounds for his design.

7. The First Person to Perform in the Sydney Opera House

Gordon Parks, Office of War Information; cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 07:13, 3 February 2011 (UTC), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Paul Robeson was the first person to perform at the Sydney Opera House. By the time he was performing, the building was not yet completed and even the construction of the sails had not commenced. 

He sang the song “OL’Man River” to construction workers perched on scaffolding. After its completion, many performances and events have been held including Prokofiev’s epic War and Peace performed by the Australian Opera.

8. The Sydney Opera House was Expensive to Build

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

The building was estimated to use approximately 7 million Australian dollars but ended up using 102 million Australian dollars. Utzon’s vision was so huge, the construction that was expected to take four years ended up taking 14 years and 10, 000 workers to complete. 

The money was largely paid for by a State Lottery. One of the biggest challenges was realizing Utzon’s roof; unfortunately, he did not see his dream design come true since he resigned midway.

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9. Official Opening of Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House which began its construction in 1957 with Danish designer architect Jorn Utzon completed after 14 years while it was expected to take 4 years and had 10,000 workers was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth 11 on 20th October 1973. It was a shock that the designer was absent from the grand opening ceremony

10. The Design of the Roof was Shaped after a Fruit

Adam.J.W.C., CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

One of the biggest challenges of building this building was the roof. The Danish designer wanted it to have a shape of an orange peel. The roof of the House was given the name Shells.

The designer was inspired by nature when he designed the building’s functions and colors. He continues to say that he was influenced by bird wings, and the form of clouds, walnuts, and shell and palm trees.