Probably the most well known symbol of
Sydney and Australia. Located on Bennelong Point, facing
out into Port Jackson is the Sydney Opera House.HistoryEstablished on the site of a disused tram depot. In 1954 an international architecture competition was held to design the building. It was to consist of two halls, one a large concert hall to seat 3,500 people, and a smaller general purpose hall to seat 1,200 people. The winning design came from a Danish architect, Joern Utzon, 38 at the time. The assessors report said : " We are convinced that these drawings represent a concept of an opera house which is capable of becoming one of the great buildings of the world. We consider this scheme to be the most original and creative submission ( from 222 entries ). Because of its very originality it is clearly a controversial design. " During the first three years the project was under the control of the Opera House Executive Committee headed by Stan Haveland, the Under Secretary for Local Government. The Committee allowed Utzon much freedom and encouaged him to do whatever he thought was right. The contruction of the building was to prove controversial all through its life. The cost of the first stage, consisting of the foundations and concrete platforms for the two halls, took twice as long to complete ( 1959 to 1963 ) and ended up costing twice as much. In all £ 2.8 million ( about $ 5.6 million ). From October 1961 to April 1962 the cost rose from £ 8.5 ( $ 17 ) million to over £ 12 ( $ 24 ) million. Both architect and engineers insisted that they were being as economical as possible. By 1965 the estimate had once again risen to £ 25 ( $ 50 ) million. The greatly increasing costs made the whole project a major political scandal. After disagreements about control and payments Utzon resigned on 28 February 1966. Stage 2, the construction of the roofs was completed in March 1967. Stage 3, including the interiors and promenade sections was completed in 1973. The final cost was $ 102 million most of which was raised through government lotteries commenced in 1958. ( Australia converted to decimal currency in 1966 ). On October 20th, 1973 Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the building. The final complex consists of a concert hall that seats 2,690, an opera theatre seating 1,547, a drama theatre with 544 seats, music room or play house seating 398, and a range of exhibition halls, reception areas, rehearsal studios, bars and lounges. |
Sydney Opera House at night
| The roof structure consists of four "shells". The entire surface of the shells is covered in precast concrete lids, tile surfaced and bolted onto the ribs. The roof contains more than 6,000 shell lids and is covered. More than 6,000 tons ( or tonnes ) of reinforced steel and 120,000 tons ( or tonnes ) of concrete was used on the construction of the Opera House. The weight of the shell roof alone is over 22,000 tons ( or tonnes ). |
|
[ New | Sights | Entertainment | Home | Images | Feedback | Advertising ] |
Copyright 1996-2010 Computer Information Agency |
Guided Tours
