Sydney Opera House - Sydney, NSW, Australia
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tmob
S 33° 51.476 E 151° 12.888
56H E 334856 N 6252161
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, Australia
Waymark Code: WMVDAY
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 04/04/2017
Views: 25
«The Sydney Opera House is situated at the tip of a prominent peninsula projecting into Sydney Harbour (known as Bennelong Point) and within close proximity to the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
The architectural form comprises three groups of interlocking vaulted ‘shells’, set upon a vast terraced platform (‘the podium’) and surrounded by terrace areas that function as pedestrian concourses. The two main shell structures cover the two main performance venues, known as the Concert Hall and Opera Theatre. The third set of shells that overlooks Sydney Cove was designed specially to house a restaurant. The two main halls are arranged side by side, oriented north-south with their axes slightly inclined. The auditoria are carved out of the high north end of the podium so that they face south, towards the city, with the stage areas positioned between them and the entrance foyers. The tallest shell reaches the height of a 20-storey building above the water. The shell structures cover nearly two hectares and the whole property is nearly six hectares. The complex includes more than 1000 rooms, most of which are located within the podium, as are virtually all the technical functions of the performing arts centre.
The base of the Sydney Opera House rises up as a massive monolith of reinforced concrete, a grand granite-clad podium. Its monumental scale forms an artificial promontory that offers continuity with the harbour-side landscape. The forecourt is a vast open space from which people ascend the stairs to the podium. The podium steps, which lead up from the forecourt to the two main performance venues, are a great ceremonial stairway nearly 100 metres wide and two storeys high.
Jørn Utzon’s design created an unconventional performing arts building in the way that it separated the performance and technical functions. The two main performance venues were placed beneath the vaulted roof shells, side by side upon the podium, while all the back-stage facilities and technical equipment were hidden within the podium. The vaulted roof shells were designed by Utzon in collaboration with Ove Arup & Partners; the final shape of the shells was derived from the surface of a single imagined sphere, some 75 metres in diameter. This geometry gives the building great coherence as well as allowing its construction to benefit from the economies of prefabrication.
Each shell is composed of pre-cast rib segments radiating from a concrete pedestal and rising to a ridge beam. The ribs of the shells are covered with chevron-shaped, pre-cast concrete tile lids. The shells are faced in glazed off-white tiles while the podium is clad in earth-toned, reconstituted granite panels. The north and south ends of the shells are hung with topaz glass walls that project diagonally outwards to form foyers, offering views from inside and outside. The glass walls are a special feature of the building, constructed according to architect Peter Hall’s modified design. The topaz glazed in-fill between the shells and the podium was built as a continuous laminated glass surface with facetted folds tied to a structure of steel mullions.
The Concert Hall is the largest performance space of the Sydney Opera House and accommodates up to 2700 people. Birch plywood, formed into radiating ribs on the suspended hollow raft ceiling, extends down the walls to meet laminated brush-box linings that match the floor. The Opera Theatre is the Sydney base for Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet, and a regular venue for the Sydney Dance Company. Its walls and ceiling are painted black and the floor is brush-box timber.
Peter Hall’s design for the interiors used different finishes to distinguish the various spaces in the building. The Utzon Room is a multi-purpose venue overlooking Farm Cove that is used for music recitals, productions for children, lecture programs and functions. Formerly the Reception Hall, the room was transformed in 2004 under Utzon’s design guidance. The western loggia is the first major structural work to the exterior of the building since the opening of the Sydney Opera House. It was designed by Utzon following his re-engagement with the Sydney Opera House in 1999. The western loggia comprises a colonnade opening into the western side of the podium facing towards the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Nine openings have been created to open up the foyers of the Drama Theatre, the Studio and the Playhouse to natural light and to allow access to harbour and city views. Utzon’s design for the western loggia was inspired by the colonnades found in Mayan temples, which were one of the original design sources for the Sydney Opera House.»
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