THE MAKING OF AN ICON
The hidden history of Sydney’s World Heritage-listed wonder.
WORDS Ute Junker
Long before the curtains opened on the first performance in 1973, the Sydney Opera House was already pulling people in. On 2 March 1959, a crowd gathered in the rain for the ceremony marking the start of construction of the country’s most controversial building.
At a time when Australia was changing rapidly, the very idea of a Sydney Opera House was a bold step. The winning design by relatively unknown Danish architect Jørn Utzon, chosen in a design competition that drew 223 entries from 28 countries, matched that boldness.
In an era when buildings around the world followed the modernist aesthetic – think glass, steel and concrete, symmetry and clean lines, and a distinct lack of decoration – Utzon’s extraordinary design broke the mould.
Following the lead of architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Alvar Aalto, Utzon created a building that was also a sculpture, changing appearance depending on where you viewed it. Its peaks and curves, echoing the forms of shells and waves, would sit harmoniously against the surrounding sky and sea. Such a revolutionary design also required revolutionary building techniques. Utzon’s design and engineering teams confronted an extraordinary array of challenges.
No wonder the project burst through its original parameters – instead of a $7 million budget and a four-year construction period, it would take 14 years and $102 million to complete. Working out a method for creating the shells – each one a different shape – took four years. Using the principles of spherical geometry, the team found a way to prefabricate the distinctive shells, changing forever the way buildings were constructed.
The interiors proved to be as much of a challenge as the exteriors. When he failed to get the funding to build plywood prototypes for the interiors, Utzon walked off the project (and out of Australia) in 1966.
A panel of Australian architects, led by Peter Hall, was appointed to finish the design and construction of the interiors and foyers. Hall, who assumed he would be following Utzon’s plans, was shocked to discover that no drawings or documentation were available. Instead, the team had to create solutions as they went along – an approach that explains why artists and audiences alike were for decades dissatisfied with the acoustics of the concert and opera halls.
That was remedied as part of the Sydney Opera House’s ‘decade of renewal’, a massive program of capital works leading up to the building’s 40th anniversary in 2023. Totalling almost $300 million, the improvements included new acoustic reflectors and diffusion panels, as well as enhancements to the stage machinery and the building’s accessibility.
The improvements followed a new set of guidelines designed to govern future changes to the landmark building, which half a century on remains one of the world’s most recognisable constructions. The man who developed the guidelines, at the invitation of the Sydney Opera House Trust? Jørn Utzon.
THE DETAILS
TOUR
The best views of the Opera House are enjoyed from Sydney Harbour, and on the 78-foot luxury cruiser Spirit of Migloo, you can set sail in style. Experiences include a 2.5-hour lunch cruise, with a two-course meal and welcome glass of bubbles, from $109pp. Or cast off at sunset and watch the city light up as you enjoy a three-course meal highlighting Sydney’s multicultural influences, from $149pp.