nomination by the Government of Australia - Sydney Opera House

Utzon’s reading and use of historical forms, particularly those of ancient China, is a
clue to his originality. In Sydney, these diverse facets seemed to unfold, to expand,
and find their expression in a unique synthesis driven by a process of conceptual
invention, undertaken in a state of grace (Françoise Fromonot 2000: 7–8).
With the demise of the classical language of
architecture as the basis for monumental works
that express civic values after World War II, the
Sydney Opera House is the culmination of the
search for an alternative means of expression
that had preoccupied progressive architects
since the 1920s (Goad 2005).
Utzon’s design was inspired by an eclectic suite of ideas
from ancient through to modern times that included
Mayan, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Islamic and western
cultures. The infl uence of the ancient Mayan steppyramids
in Mexico on the podium of the Sydney Opera
House and the analogy of Chinese temples with their
‘fl oating’ roofs is well documented. Utzon’s use of ideas
borrowed from other places and times is also apparent
in many other aspects of the design.
The site resembles the Athenian Acropolis to the
extent that the ‘artifi cial landform … becomes the
site—surmounted by two great “temples” ’ (Weston
2002: 114). Several architectural historians have
highlighted Utzon’s genius in making the architecture
and landscape appear as one (Moneo 2004: 88). The
use of tiling on the shells was inspired by the glistening
domes and minarets rising above Islamic villages
and also by Utzon’s studies in the art of Chinese and
Japanese ceramics (Weston 2002: 148, 184–186).
Utzon’s construction methods incorporated insights
from the 12th century Chinese treatise Ying Zao fa
shi, which advocated the assemblage of prefabricated
components and informed his theory of ‘Additive
Architecture’ (Weston 2002: 186; Goad 1997: 139).
Figure 3.10 Clouds over the sea, Jørn Utzon, 1962
Figure 3.11 Sketch of a Japanese house, Jørn Utzon, 1962
3.10
3.11
3.12
3.13
Figure 3.12 Preliminary sketch for the vaults of the Sydney
Opera House, 1958
Figure 3.13 Concept sketch for the Sydney Opera House,
1958
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