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The
Opera House covers 4.5 acres of land and
offers 4.5 11 acres of usable space. It
is 600 feet long and about 388 feet wide.
The basic support is given by 580 concrete
piers sunk up to 25 metres below sea level.Its
power supply is equivalent for a town of
25,000 people. Its about 645 kilometres
of electrical cable were used for electricity
distribution. The Construction of the
roof is done with 1,056,000 glazed white
granite tiles, which were imported from
Sweden. Despite their self-cleaning nature,
they are under periodic maintenance and
replacement.
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Inaugurated in 1973,
the Sydney Opera House is a great architectural
work of the 20th century that brings together multiple
strands of creativity and innovation in both architectural
form and structural
design.
A great urban sculpture set in a remarkable waterscape,
at the tip of a peninsula projecting into Sydney
Harbour, the building has had an enduring influence
on architecture. The Sydney Opera House comprises
three groups of interlocking vaulted ‘shells’
which roof two main performance halls and a restaurant.
These shell-structures
are set upon a vast platform and are surrounded
by terrace areas that function as pedestrian concourses.
In 1957, when the project of the Sydney Opera House was awarded by an international jury to Danish architect
Jørn Utzon, it marked a radically new approach
to construction.
The Opera House have nearly 1000 rooms, which includes
five theatres, five rehearsal studios, two main halls,
four restaurants, six bars and numerous souvenir shops.
The interior portion of the House is composed of pink
granite got from Tarana, NSW and wood and brush box
plywood were from northern NSW. The series of large
shells are the theatres, which is a depiction of the
dissection of a hemisphere. The Large Shell is comprised
of The Concert Hall and Opera Theatre, and the other
theatres are on the sides of the shells. The smallest
building is the Bennelong Restaurant. A much smaller
set of shells set for one side of the Monumental steps
houses, the restaurants.
The Sydney
Opera House can be said to have its beginning during
the late 1940s. Eugene Goossens, the Director of the
NSW State Conservatorium of Music at the time, who
lobbied to have a suitable venue for large theatrical
productions which are to be built. At that time, a
large enough space was in need for such productions
apart from Sydney town Hall. By 1954, Goossens succession
was there in gaining the support of NSW Premier. Joseph
Cahill, who called for the designs of opera house.
It was also Goossens who insisted that Bennelong Point
be the site for the Opera House. Cahill's wish was
on or near the Wynyard Railway Station, located in
the north-western Sydney CBD.The competition was organized
by Cahill and he received 233 entries. The basic design
that was accepted in 1955 was done by Jørn
Utzon, a Danish architect. Utzon arrived in Sydney
in 1957 to help and supervise the project.
At the time
of these plans,The Fort Macquarie Tram Depot, occupying
the site, was demolished in 1958, and construction
of the Opera House began in March, 1959. The project
construction was done in three stages. Stage I [1959-1963]
building the upper podium. Stage II [1963-1967] construction
of the outer shells. Stage III [1967-73] The interior
design and construction.
Among the three
stages, Stage III, the interiors, In February 1963
during that work Utzon moved his whole office to Sydney.
When there was a vary of government in 1965, and the
new Askin government declared that the project was
now under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public
Works.
In October
1965, Utzon gave a schedule setting out the completion
dates of parts of his work for stage III to Davis
Hughes the Minister for Public Works. Hughes withheld
permission for the construction of plywood prototypes
for the interiors. In time this forced Utzon to leave
the project on February 28, 1966. He said that Hughes'
rebuttal to pay Utzon any fees and the lack of alliance
caused his resignation, and later notably described
the situation as "Malice in Blunderland".
In March 1966, Hughes presented him a abridged role
as 'design architect', without any supervisory powers,
under a board of executive architects, over the House's
construction but Utzon redundant this.
In October
of that year, the cost of the project, was only $22.9
million, less than a quarter of the final cost. Utzon's
position was primarily taken over by Peter Hall, who
became responsible for the interior design. Some new
persons such as E.H. Farmer appointed as government
architect & D.S. Littlemore & Lionel Todd
in the same year to reinstate Utzon. Formally The
Opera House was finished in 1973, at a cost of $102
million.The original estimated cost in 1957 was $7
million. The original completion date which was set
by the government was January 26, 1963.
Formally The
Opera House was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on October
20, 1973. For the city of Sydney, The Sydney Opera
House along with the Harbour Bridge with the shape
of the building have been used as icons, featured
in numerous films & television shows.
