THE MODERNIST ANGLE

As a photo illustration for my New Year's greeting, I originally thought "fireworks with a modernist house" – but no such luck. What I did find is this lovely composite shot by Matt Hudson (matthudsonau) of the iconic Sydney Opera House.

But I immediately realised how little I knew about this very distinctive building and masterpiece of 20th century architecture. Worse, I didn't even know anything about its architect. Thus, a short intro:

An international design competition for a new multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney was launched in 1955 and received 233 entries, representing architects from 32 countries. The criteria specified a large hall seating 3,000 and a small hall for 1,200 people, each to be designed for different uses, including full-scale operas, orchestral and choral concerts, mass meetings, lectures, ballet performances, and other presentations.

The winner, announced in 1957, was Danish architect Jørn Utzon. His design was rescued by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen from a final cut of 30 rejects. Utzon visited Sydney in 1957 to help supervise the project; his office moved to Sydney in February 1963.

The Government of New South Wales authorised work to begin in 1958, with Utzon directing construction. (But) the government's decision to build Utzon's design was often overshadowed by circumstances that followed, including cost and scheduling overruns, as well as the architect's ultimate resignation.

Completed by an Australian architectural team headed by Peter Hall, the building was formally opened in October 1973.

Utzon received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour, in 2003 for his design. The Pritzker Prize citation read:

“There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world – a symbol for not only a city but a whole country and continent.”

Have you visited the building? And if so, what is your impression and take on it?

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Via wikipedia; much more details at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Opera_House, and about every architectural site on the internet.