SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE (14-CE-147)

Introduction Sydney Opera House (1957 - 1973) is a masterpiece of late modern architecture. It is admired internationally and proudly treasured by the people of Australia. It was created by a young architect who understood and recognized the potential provided by the site against the stunning backdrop of Sydney Harbour. Denmark’s Jørn Utzon gave Australia a challenging, graceful piece of urban sculpture in patterned tiles, glistening in the sunlight and invitingly aglow at night.At now, Sydney Opera House has earned a reputation as a world-class performing arts centre and become a symbol of both Sydney and the Australian nation. In 2003 Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, international architecture's highest honour

Location Of Sydney opera house

It is situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Geographical coordinates are latitude 33° 51’ 35” S and longitude 151°12’ 50” E.

General InformationMain contractor Civil & Civic

Cost A$102 million

Architect Jorn Utzon

Client NSW Government

Structural Engineer Ove Arup & Patners

Dimensions

Length 183m (603ft)

Width 120m (394ft)

Area 4.4 acres

Height 65m (213ft)

The outstanding universal values of the Sydney Opera House are demonstrated as

(i) a masterpiece of late modern architecture; - multiple strands of creativity, - a great urban sculpture, - masterful synthesis of architectural ideas,

(ii) oustanding achievements in structural engineering and technological innovation;

(iii) a world-famous iconic building of the 20th century

Construction of the Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is often thought of as being constructed in three stages and this is useful in understanding the history of the three key elements of its architectural composition:

1) the podium (stage 1)

2)the vaulted shells (stage 2)

3)the glass walls (stage 3)

The PodiumThe construction of the podium was a significant design and engineering achievement. The challenge was to construct a podium that simultaneously created a sense of the continuation of the natural landscape and a bold modern structure of continuous reinforced concrete that rose out of the ground and overlooked the harbour . Therefore its solution was a beam that integrated the techniques of folded plate structures and prestressing.

The vaulted shells After many attempts at fulfilling the promise that the competition proposals promised, an intensive collaboration between architects and engineers ended with an absolutely clear solution with ball geometry that gave the right answer to all the many problems that such a huge and complicated task could throw up. We had no precedent to go on … only through [a] series of experiments did we come to understand all aspects and find ourselves able to reach the result. It was like climbing Mount Everest for the first time (Utzon quoted in Weston 2004a: 131).

Ove Arup & Partners undertook extensive engineering research and calculations over four years.They proposed over a dozen different geometries for the shells and different ways of studying them, starting with parabolic surfaces, moving to ellipsoid schemes and then on to circular arc rib proposals. In late 1961, Utzon was struck by the idea that all the roof shapes could be derived from a single sphere. Sharing a common radius, the segments could be broken into individual components, prefabricated and then assembled on site.

The glass walls The design solution for the glass walls pushed the boundaries of contemporary technology to the limit and took eight years The final solution was a design of planar glazing with minimal external mullions and internal steel structure set back from the glass.

The glass walls were a considerable design and engineering achievement. This was the first largescale example of the use of glass in a building.

The external tile cladding of the shells

Utzon believed that the covering for the gigantic curved forms of the shells would have ‘the greatest influence on the visual impact’ of the building (Weston 2002: 148). The right materials were needed to create an appearance that would match and emphasise the simple and powerful geometry of the shell structure. After investigating materials used in ancient buildings, Utzon chose ceramic tiles partly because of their beautiful, harmonious patina.

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VISITOR FACILITIES AND STATISTIC

It is estimated that over four million people visit the Sydney Opera House site annually. Over one million of these visitors attend more than 1700 live performances per annum, making it one of the world’s busiest performing arts venues. The Sydney Opera House site also functions as a grand public gathering place and is host to a variety of function-specific facilities as well as general services. The large public events of New Year’s Eve attract around 10 000 people to the site to celebrate and watch the fireworks which are broadcast internationally.Facilities of shopping,resturants are also provided for visitors.

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Venues There are eight primary venues at the Sydney Opera House. These are The Concert Hall (maximum seating capacity 2679);The Opera Theatre (maximum seating capacity 1507);The Drama Theatre (maximum seating capacity 544); The Playhouse (maximum seating capacity 398); The Studio (seating capacity from 220–318);The Exhibition Hall (maximum standing capacity up to 300); The Utzon Room (a multi-purpose venue, maximum capacity 270 people); The forecourt (an open air venue south of the shells which can accommodate up to 6000 people

The Concert Hall The Opera Theatre