The Sydney Opera House – Iconic building of the 20th century

The Sydney Opera House is an iconic building of the 20th century, cherished internationally and treasured by the people of Australia. It is the masterpiece of contemporary architecture with a high level of integrity and authenticity. This architectural wonder is located in the Bennelong Point which is near the world-famous Sydney Harbour. The first thing to remember is the architectural style of this masterpiece. The Sydney Opera House represents the Expressionist architectural style.

The proprietary of this Opera House is NSW Government (Government of New South Wales). The building covers 1.8 hectares or 4.4 acres of land and is 183m or 600ft long and 120m or 394ft wide. The Danish architect Jrn Utzon is the talent behind this wonder. The construction began on 1st March 1959 and was completed in 1973.

The idea of the Sydney Opera House is exceptional. This exceptional architecture is built with a budget of 120 million USD. One point often overlooked is that the Sydney Opera House was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II on 20th October 1973. Worlds much-recognized construction firms like Arups Structural Engineering, Hornibrook and Rider Hunt were involved in constructing Sydney Opera House.

The main concert hall can accommodate approximately 2,700 people and comprises one of the worlds largest organs with 10,000 pipes. The roof of the Sydney Opera House is made of 2,194 pre-cast concrete sections. As a matter of fact, each section of the roof weighs up to 15 tons and is held together by 350km of tensioned steel cable. Eight Boeing 747 aeroplanes could sit wing to wing on the site of the 1.75 hectares building. 6,223 square metres of glass were used in the 14 years of construction which involved 10,000 construction workers.

15,500 light bulbs are changed annually in the worlds much-loved Opera House. The Sydney Opera House also houses a recording studio, cafes, restaurants, bars and retail outlets. The Opera House is air-conditioned using seawater taken directly from the harbour. From the Sydney Harbour, the system circulates cold water through 35 kilometres of pipes to power both the heating and air conditioning in the building.

The Sydney Opera House owns the following records:

• UNESCO World Heritage site, 2007.
• RAIA Merit Award, 1974.
• Meritorious Lighting Award of the Illuminating Engineering Society of Australia, 1974.
• RAIA Civic Design Award, 1980.
• RAIA Commemorative Award, Jrn Utzon ? Sydney Opera House, 1992.