If you were to ask, who won the highest honor in architecture, the Pritzker Prize, for the year 2003, you probably wouldn’t be able to provide an answer; however, if you were asked to describe that large building constructed like a series of billowing sails in Sydney, Australia, you’d probably do much better. The answer to the first question is Jorn Utzon, a Danish architect, and, of course, the answer to the second question is the Sydney Opera House, which he desgined. Only a few years ago, in 2007, the building was declared an UNESCO World Heritage site.
Utzon’s designs for the building were chosen in 1957; however, the construction would not be complete until 1973, sixteen years later. Since then, the Sydney Opera House has become synonymous not only with Sydney, but all of Australia, and a major destination point for tourists everywhere, from those traveling on the cheap to those staying at the fine luxury hotels Sydney has to offer. The building itself is 605 feet long and about 388 feet wide, covering nearly 5 acres of land, with an expressionist design of shells made from concrete, covered with tiles of in a pattern of chevrons numbering one million fifty six hundred thousand and six!
There are five venues contained in the building, so the name Sydney Opera House is a bit of a misnomer. The structure contains The Concert Hall (on the West side), and the Opera Theater (on the East side). Other smaller venues beneath the Concert Hall include The Studio, the Drama Theatre, and the Playhouse).
The Concert Hall seats 2,678, and provides a home for the Sydney Symphony. It also contains one of the world’s largest organs (10,000 pipes!). The smaller Opera Theatre seats 1,507 and provides a venue for the The Australian Ballet, as well as Opera Australia. The Drama Theatre contains 544 seats, which the Sydney Theatre Company utilizes, as well as the Playhouse, which holds room for 398 patrons. The Studio is changeable, and depending on the configuration of the room, can hold as many as 400. One of the many famous spots in Australia, the Opera House is well worth your time to be one of the theater goers in those seats!