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Unit 10 The Sydney Opera House ౠ୨ႇᆐ Located in AustraliaĞ፫߷ğ
Unit
10The Sydney Opera House
Located in Australia
108108
q “Many people say my design was
inspired by the sailing yachts1 in the
harbor,” Jørn Utzon once told a
reporter. The curving, rounded2
segments of the Sydney Opera
House do look like air-filled sails and
they do beautifully echo3 the sails of the boats on the water in the
harbor. Actually, though, the famous roof of the Opera House was
inspired by—an orange.
w “It is like an orange,” said Utzon,
a Dane4 who became the architect
for the Opera House after winning a
design competition in 1957. “You
peel5 an orange and you get these
segments, these similar shapes.”
The shell-like roof of the Opera House has fourteen segments. Put them
all together: they form a perfect sphere.6 For this reason, the building
looks both complex and unified.7
e When construction began in 1959, the unique geometry8 of Utzon’s
1. yacht j3t n.
2. rounded `ra8ndId adj.
3. echo `5ko v.
4. Dane den n.
5. peel pil v.
6. sphere sfIr n.
W O R D L I S T
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Unit 10 The Sydney Opera House 109
2Partdesign posed enormous challenges
to builders. One of the best engineers
in the world, Ove Arup, helped figure
out how to make it al l possible.
Unfortunately, in addition to the
design and engineering difficulties,
there were also political problems.
r While the Opera House was stil l under construction, a new
government was elected in New South Wales, the Australian state where
Sydney is located. The new Minister9 for Public Works was Davis
Hughes. Previously Hughes had been caught for lying about having a
university degree, and he understood little about architecture or
engineering. But he wanted to be in control of the Opera House.
t Hughes took control by criticizing and then refusing to pay Utzon. In
1966, unable to support his staff,10 the architect was forced to quit the
job. He left Australia and never returned. Work on the Opera House was
completed by other architects. Many people believe the building
(especially the interiors11) would have been even better if Utzon had
been involved until the end. When the Opera House was completed in
Unit 10 The Sydney Opera House 109
7. unified `junEfa6d adj.
8. geometry i`3mEtrI n.
9. minister `mInIst/ n.
10. staff stæf n.
11. interior In`tIrI/ n.
110110
W O R D L I S T
12. daring `d5rI; adj.
13. historic hIs`t7rIk adj.
14. masterpiece `mæst/pis n.
15. iconic a6`k3nIk adj.
1973, Utzon was not invited to the opening ceremony.
y Eventually, many years later, the government of New South Wales
made peace with Utzon. They asked him to redesign a room inside the
Opera House and in 2004 it was named the Utzon Room in his honor.
By then, Utzon was too old to travel back to Australia. He never saw the
completed building. “But he lives and breathes the Opera House,” said
his son, “and as its creator he just has to close his eyes to see it.”
u Today, the Opera House still looks daring12 and modern. Universally
recognized as a historic13 masterpiece,14 it is Australia’s most famous,
most iconic15 building. “The sun did not know how beautiful its light
was,” said one admiring architect, “until it reflected off this building.”
Unit 10 The Sydney Opera House 111
2Part
q
w 1957
14
e 1959
r
t 1966
1973
y
112
2004
u
