Sydney Opera House

Utzon’s shells on a point in Sydney Harbour became one of the most famous buildings in the world. The white shells are clad with more than a million ceramic tiles. The structure was solved by cutting all the shells from the same sphere.

In 1956 the state of New South Wales announced an international competition for an opera house. The 38-year-old Dane Jørn Utzon won with an entry that consisted only of sketches. Construction began in 1959. The shells were a major problem, since nobody knew how they could be built. After several years Utzon and the engineers at Ove Arup found the solution: all the shells have the same curvature, as if they had been cut from a sphere. This meant the parts could be produced in series.

The building stands on a concrete platform inspired by Mexican and Asian temple terraces. The shells cover two large halls and a restaurant. They are built of precast concrete segments and clad with 1,056,006 Swedish-made glazed tiles from Höganäs. Glossy and matt tiles give the surface life in the light. Glass walls close the openings towards the harbour.

After conflicts with the state government Utzon left the project in 1966 and never returned to Australia. The interiors were completed by other architects, led by Peter Hall. The opera house was opened in 1973 by Queen Elizabeth II. Utzon received the Pritzker Prize in 2003, and the building became a World Heritage Site in 2007, making it one of the youngest buildings on the list. Utzon was later engaged to draw up principles for future changes, and one room was remodelled to his designs.

• Post-war modernism
• Jørn Utzon