What does the Sydney Opera House and Alvar Aalto have in common? See after the jump…
Close Up: The Sydney Opera House
Sydney
Danish architect Jørn Utzon worked for Alvar Aalto and also designed the Sydney Opera House. Over the weekend we heard the sad news of the passing of Jørn Utzon, so we thought it was appropriate to do a close up on his and Australia’s most iconic building.
In 1957 Utzon won a competition for his submission for the Opera House design despite his entry being cast aside in the early stages of the judging. While it took him over 6 years to complete the design of the outer shells, his final design was inspired by peeling an orange. The roof is made up of 1,056,006 Swedish-made self-cleaning tiles.
Unfortunately, not everyone appreciated Utzon as being an architectural genius. In 1965 after a new State government was elected in New South Whales the new Minister for Public Works Davis Hughes, stopped all payments to Utzon and the Opera House project. Utzon was forced to resign as chief architect in 1966.
The Concert Room. This is THE room in the Sydney Opera House. While it does have some acoustical problems Utzons motivation in this design was to make an impression.
The Opera Theater.
The Utzon Room. Along the wall is a 14 meter tapestry designed by Jørn Utzon.
A suite of Jørn Utzon designed furniture that the Sydney Opera House acquired at auction for $12,000 in 2006. Designed in the 1960's while he was living in Australia, this was then manufactured for a few years by Fritz Hanzen in Denmark.
The Sydney Opera House was built from 1956 to1973, the project blew out and ended up costing 1,400% more than was originally planned. In 2007 the Opera House was declared a world heritage site and it sees over 4 million visitors each year. While we’ve seen pictures of it more times than we could ever count, seeing this building in person is breath-taking. If you’re ever in Australia, the Sydney Opera House is the number 1 architectural place you should visit.
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Funny, I have a white Aalto vase, and didn't even know it was anything special.
view SourApple's profile
I could use some of those self-cleaning tiles...
view bepsf's profile
Timely post given that Jorn Utzon just passed away. He has left many wonderful buildings and Sydney is very fortunate to have one of the best of his designs gracing their city.
view austinjohn's profile
that would be New South Wales, not Whales. :)
view darlingcaro's profile
What do they have in common? Whales!
view nloewen1's profile
I'm with SourApple. I have that vase in Green.
I also love the Sydney Opera House. It's on my list of must-see architecture.
http://embritadesign.blogspot.com
view EmmieB's profile
With all due respect to the late Mr. Utzon, an opera house with acoustical problems is a disaster. But Peter Hall, his replacement,was more to blame for the problems in the Theater (which Utzon did not design.) Frank Gehry's Disney Hall has rather poor acoustics, as well.
view Palmetto's profile
Re: Acoustic problems
The interior of Sidney Opera House was not built according to Utzon's designs; part of the conflict that led to his resignation was that the client wanted to increase the number of seats with 50%. The acoustic advisor urged against it because it would be disastrous for the acoustics.
Since the late 1990s Sidney Opera House has been working with Utzon's son to rebuild the interior from Utzon's original plans.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Opera_House
view Anna Europe's profile
It's Sydney not Sidney!
view Janeg's profile
The acoustic issues with the Sydney Opera House are often attributed to Utzon, and then passed on to the architects who were handed the job after Utzon left, however it seems quite obvious to me that the new state government wanted to make their mark on the building, and as the client, demanded changes to the programme of the building that simply could not be accommodated. The two main halls were swapped, which created many of the acoustic issues that are now infamous, not to mention completely unsuitable (undersized) backstage areas, orchestra pits and instrument and prop storage. The architecture firm who took over after Utzon were apparently quite hesitant to make the requested changes to the design, but they had little option, and as such they continue to be blamed, instead of the politics and egos that prevailed. Sadly enough, Australia continues to treat architects with similar contempt some 40 years later.
view MsUnreliable's profile
Anna Europe - Sydney, not Sidney. JennyB - New South Wales, not New South Whales ;) (And it's great to be in Las Angiles in the great state of Califarnia!)
But yes, the interior wasn't designed by Utzon, it was kind of... shoved in to place afterwards. But they've been doing a heap of restoration projects - last time I was there, the entire lower hall foyer (the one which leads in to the Drama Theatre, Studio, and Playhouse) had been extended out in to a portico, with views of the Harbour Bridge. It looks fantastic!
The Opera Theatre's main issue is that the orchestra pit is so badly designed that it's actually damaging to the musicians' ears - I know a few people who work there, they have to wear earplugs! But acoustic issues aside, it's the Concert Hall which is the star of the show - it just has a... presence. (And they have tried to fix the issues - those clear ring things that are suspended from the ceiling help to bounce sound waves around for a much richer, better sound.)
Anyway. I'm a Sydneysider - I'm justifiably proud of our Opera House :)
view ryttu3k's profile
@ryttu3k: Sorri!
view Anna Europe's profile