Sydney Opera House August 8
Friday June 2 - Early Afternoon
Next we walked around the bay to the Sydney Opera House. I took a LOT of pictures here because I was really interested in the architecture of the building. But I won’t put all of those up, just a few of the more interesting ones. It was just starting to rain pretty good when we got to the Opera House and we went underneath it to check on tour availability. Luckily, one was leaving soon and we got on it. The tour was great and we learned a lot, my only regret is that we could not take pictures of the actual concert halls, because they were really somethig to see.
This was a picture that I took before the tour when we walked up to the outside of the building before going on the tour. This was our first look at the underside of the pre-form concrete that makes up the shells.
This is a look in between the shells that shows how narrow they are.
Most of the pictures that you see of the Opera House show it shining i the sun. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sunny when we were there, but we did get a good look at the tiles as they do go down almost to ground level.
I stuck my hand into this picture for perspective. The ‘Glowing Shells’ seen in pictures come from the white tile in the middle. Up close they look pretty similar to regular glazed bathroom tiles. On the tour the guide was asked about cleaning the tiles, apparently they have done this task once at a cost of millions of dollars. They looked to be in great shape.
Another look at the shells from outside.
This was near the start of the tour. The entire building is preformed concrete and it can be seen everywhere. Notice the concrete going into the group in the back, that is a feature that the architect, Jorn Utzon, used in a couple of places and also in the Utzon Room, which is in the next picture.
During the tour we found out all about the history of the Opera House and about the architect, Jorn Utzon. Being a difficult engineering task, the building during construction ran over budget and was not completed on time. A number of years into the project, Utzon and the government had a falling out and Utzon left the project with only the other facade complete. Other architects completed the interior of the building. A few years ago, the Opera house contacted Utzon, who ahs never been to the completed building, and asked him to finish one of the rooms, which you see in this picture. You will notice Utzons bare concrete in the ceiling, and also recessed lights and not much else. Even though Utzon has never been to the room, he was able to convey what he had in mind for the room from offsite. See the next few pictures to see what else he put in the room.
This is the back of the room, directly behind where I took the first picture. Just like in the parking area at the start of the tour, you cans ee the concrete going into the floor here. Utzon was so precise in his specifications for the room, that after seeing a picture of the installed lights he demanded that the filters on the lights be changed so that they made a softer glow on the concrete.
This is a picture out the big bay windows on the side of the room. Utzon wanted the focus to either be on the bay, or on what you see in the next picture.
This is the other wall of the room. It shows a tapestry designed by Utzon himself and was inspired by other artists, Raphael and Bach. Utzon wanted the focus not to be on the room, but to either be outside the room in the harbor or on the tapestry.
This is the front lobby outside one of the main opera halls. There are 2 halls, one in each of the large shells. The designers of the interior of the building used a lot of wood to contrast the concrete and also because wood is the best material for good accoustics.
A picture of the stairway beside one of the halls.
A close up of some more of the woodwork on the stairway.
This is the rear lobby of one of the halls. During intermissions it is often used as a reception hall for the guests to sip a drink and look at the harbor.
Another view of the back lobby.
Another view of the back lobby.
A view of the shells over the other main hall.
This was taken after we left the Opera House and were heading towards the botannical gardens.