Edelma Miranda on The Sydney Opera House (Case Study)

For my case study, I have chosen the Sydney Opera House in Australia. The architect of this building was Denmark's Jørn Utzon, a man who won an international competition to build this amazing facility. People did not really think that he was capable of doing such a huge project because he was young and somewhat inexperienced.  His passion and determination about function and aesthetics created one of the most memorable buildings in the world in which now represents the Australian nation. The opera house is a performance arts centre, where the engineering and designs are quite complex. I was amazed to further understand his research and how he came up with the designs, layouts and ideas for such space. Inspirations from nature, the importance of knowing and understanding the surrounding environment, human experience and design principles were key factors that he followed by.

My personal favorite was the Utzon Room, which was the first to be renovated. I felt that this room had a personal and creative environment compared to the rest of the other rooms. Utzon designed this space with natural lighting in mind as well as the splash of bright colours on the wall-length tapestry he made. The space was limited to intimate performances as well as a creative space for children. The room also had great acoustics and was renamed after him in his honor in 2004.

He wanted the building to be seen as a water sculpture in which can be seen from all directions on the harbor.  Additional improvements were done in the building to accommodate people with a disability. He mentions that:

“As time passes and needs change, it is natural to modify the building to suit the needs and technique of the day.” Jørn Utzon, 2000

 I would love to one day come and see this space for myself and experience the design, the function as well as the environment of the Opera House in Sydney Australia.

:)