Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House from the harbour. Photograph courtesy of Andrew Watt. Sydney Opera House must be one of the most recognisable images of the modern world - up there with the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State uilding - and one of the most photographed. !ot only is it recognisable" it has come to represent #Australia#. Although only ha$ing been open since %&'(" it is as representati$e of Australia as the pyramids are of Egypt and the )olosseum of *ome. The Opera House is situated on ennelong Point" which reaches out into the harbour. The s+yline of the Sydney Harbour ridge" the blue water of the harbour and the Sydney Opera House" $iewed from a ferry or from the air" is dramatic and unforgettable. ,ronic" perhaps" that this Australian icon - the Opera House with a roof e$ocati$e of a ship at full sail - was designed by renowned -anish architect - .orn /t0on 1%&%2345526. ,n the late %&75s the !ew South Wales 1!SW6 8o$ernment established an appeal fund to finance the construction of the Sydney Opera House" and conducted a competition for its design. /t0on#s design was chosen. The irony was that his design was" arguably" beyond the capabilities of engineering of the time. /t0on spent a couple of years rewor+ing the design and it was %&9% before he had sol$ed the problem of how to build the distinguishing feature - the #sails# of the roof. The $enture e:perienced cost blow-outs and there were occasions when the !SW 8o$ernment was tempted to call a halt. ,n %&99 the situation - with arguments about cost and the interior design" and the 8o$ernment withholding progress payments - reached crisis point and .orn /t0on resigned from the pro;ect. The building was e$entually completed by others in %&'(. After more than (5 years" the Sydney Opera House has its first interior designed by /t0on. The /t0on *oom" a transformed reception hall that brings to life .orn /t0on#s original $ision for his masterpiece" was officially opened on September %9 455<. The Sydney Opera House was included in the !ational Heritage =ist in 4557" and inscribed on the World Heritage =ist in 455'. Sydney Opera House facts and figures The Sydney Opera house>

Was designed by -anish architect .orn /t0on Was opened by ?ueen Eli0abeth ,, on 45 October %&'( Presented" as its first performance" The Australian Opera#s production of War and Peace by Pro+ofie$ )ost @A/ %54"555"555 to build )onducts (555 e$ents each year Pro$ides guided tours to 455"555 people each year Has an annual audience of 4 million for its performances ,ncludes %555 rooms ,s %27 metres long and %45 metres wide Has 4%&< pre-cast concrete sections as its roof Has roof sections weighing up to %7 tons Has roof sections held together by (75 +m of tensioned steel cable Has o$er % million tiles on the roof

/ses 9447 sAuare metres of glass and 9<7 +ilometres of electric cable