The Sydney Opera House is one of the most recognizable buildings of the 20th century. This outstanding multifunctional building can be considered the hallmark of the city: it is the place most often photographed by tourists.
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| Sydney Opera House |
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most grandiose marvels of architecture of the last century: it is not just a building, but also a work of art. However, immediately after the completion of construction, the theater had no less critics than admirers. The London Times referred to the theater as “the building of the century”, but one could also find such characteristics as, say, “French nuns playing football”. The people of Sydney themselves lovingly call their wonder of the world “nuns fighting for the ball (rugby)” or “oyster shells”.
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| Sydney Opera House |
Construction History
The competition for the right to develop the design of the Sydney Opera House involved 223 architects. In January 1957, the design of the Danish architect Jorn Utzon was declared the winner of the competition, and two years later, the first stone was laid at Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour. According to preliminary calculations, the construction of the theater was supposed to take 3-4 years and cost $ 7 million. Unfortunately, shortly after the work began, many difficulties arose that forced the government to move away from Utzon's original plans. And in 1966, Utzon left Sydney after a particularly big quarrel with the city authorities.
A team of young Australian architects took responsibility for completing the construction. The government of New South Wales played a lottery to get money to continue the work. And on October 20, 1973, the new Sydney Opera House was inaugurated. Instead of the planned 4 years, the theater was built in 14, and it cost 102 million dollars.
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| Sydney Opera House |
Architectural Features
The Sydney Opera House is 183 meters long and 118 meters wide, covering an area of over 21,500 square meters. It stands on 580 concrete piles, driven to a depth of 25 m into the clay bottom of the harbor, and its grandiose dome rises 67 m in height. To cover the entire surface of the dome, more than a million glazed, iridescent, snow-white tiles were used.
The building accommodates 5 theaters: the Big Concert Hall for 2,700 seats; own theater with 1,500 seats and less spacious drama theatre, game and theater studios with 350 and 500 seats each. The complex has over a thousand additional office space, including rehearsal rooms, 4 restaurants and 6 bars.
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| Sydney Opera House |
Data
- Location: The Sydney Opera House is located on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. Its architect is Jorn Utzon.
- Dates: The first stone was laid on March 2, 1959. The first performance took place on September 28, 1973, followed by the official opening of the theater on October 20, 1973. The entire construction took 14 years and cost $102 million.
- Dimensions: The Sydney Opera House is 183 meters long and 118 meters wide, covering an area of over 21,500 square meters. m.
- Theaters and Seats: The building houses 5 separate theaters with a total seating capacity of over 5,500.
- Dome: The unique dome of the Sydney Opera House is covered by over a million ceramic tiles. The complex is provided with electricity through 645 km of cable.