Symbolism is the greatest tool that an architect has at his disposal to influences the minds and souls of the public. Whether it is abstract or literal, it will always cause an emotive response from the users either consciously or subconsciously.
This was Jørn Utzon’s main goal when in December 1955 there was a world-wide competition for architects to design a new opera house in Sydney. On January 29th 1957, out of 233 entries, Utzon was announced as the winner of the competition even though his design was originally cast aside by the panel of judges. His was the only project which had both the concert halls orientated towards the harbour, this orientation was a key factor in his design and can be seen throughout the whole building. Utzon explains this to us “As in large cathedrals the Opera House is functional in the sense that people have a beautiful experience entering and walking up the stairs and entering the auditoria, while they are all the time oriented in the beautiful harbour and have the views of the spectacular Sydney Harbour setting.”
Utzon used a lot of symbolism in his design of the opera house, the whole design itself is supposed to be a symbolic representation of the earth. “Utzon’s use of the terrace is moreover inspired by Chinese architectural symbolism in which the earth is square and the sky is round. The rectangular base and spherical geometry of the opera house roof vaults offers a parallel.”(Drew 1995). The symbolism that Utzon expresses throughout many of the features of the building is what the essence of the design is all about. It was not created as an after-thought to make the building aesthetically pleasing but it is this symbolic power and presence that makes the Sydney opera house iconic.
The opera house is raised on a large 12 metre high concrete substructure which acts as a plinth for which the superstructure can be placed onto. But also this plinth resembles a solid base on which the ever changing performances above can be grounded. This corresponds with the Chinese symbolic representation of the earth.
“The platform theme was on Utzon’s mind anyway, as is clear from his housing designs, but in a monumental context it may have been specifically inspired by the artificial hills with ceremonial steps of Monte Alban, the ancient Mexican site which the Architect had sketched during his travels.” (Curtis 2010) The symbolic idea of creating ceremonial steps which rise out of the ground is a well thought out architectural device. It creates an aura around the experience that one is about to take when walking up the steps to see a performance. It adds a grandeur to the occasion that would not be there had the stairs not been so emphasised.
One historian wrote of the concept that it “... concentrates the unconscious meanings of its urban context in the same way as Notre-Dame, situated on the Ile de la Cite, does for Paris. It manifests the spirit of the city...” (Curtis 2010) This reiterates the point of symbolism being the most powerful tool that an architect has at his disposal. The abstract symbolism of the opera house in the form of the sails of a boat, which is completely unobstructed by any view and is almost floating in the middle of Sydney harbour, is the iconic symbol for not only Sydney but the whole of Australia.
This was Jørn Utzon’s main goal when in December 1955 there was a world-wide competition for architects to design a new opera house in Sydney. On January 29th 1957, out of 233 entries, Utzon was announced as the winner of the competition even though his design was originally cast aside by the panel of judges. His was the only project which had both the concert halls orientated towards the harbour, this orientation was a key factor in his design and can be seen throughout the whole building. Utzon explains this to us “As in large cathedrals the Opera House is functional in the sense that people have a beautiful experience entering and walking up the stairs and entering the auditoria, while they are all the time oriented in the beautiful harbour and have the views of the spectacular Sydney Harbour setting.”
Utzon used a lot of symbolism in his design of the opera house, the whole design itself is supposed to be a symbolic representation of the earth. “Utzon’s use of the terrace is moreover inspired by Chinese architectural symbolism in which the earth is square and the sky is round. The rectangular base and spherical geometry of the opera house roof vaults offers a parallel.”(Drew 1995). The symbolism that Utzon expresses throughout many of the features of the building is what the essence of the design is all about. It was not created as an after-thought to make the building aesthetically pleasing but it is this symbolic power and presence that makes the Sydney opera house iconic.
The opera house is raised on a large 12 metre high concrete substructure which acts as a plinth for which the superstructure can be placed onto. But also this plinth resembles a solid base on which the ever changing performances above can be grounded. This corresponds with the Chinese symbolic representation of the earth.
“The platform theme was on Utzon’s mind anyway, as is clear from his housing designs, but in a monumental context it may have been specifically inspired by the artificial hills with ceremonial steps of Monte Alban, the ancient Mexican site which the Architect had sketched during his travels.” (Curtis 2010) The symbolic idea of creating ceremonial steps which rise out of the ground is a well thought out architectural device. It creates an aura around the experience that one is about to take when walking up the steps to see a performance. It adds a grandeur to the occasion that would not be there had the stairs not been so emphasised.
One historian wrote of the concept that it “... concentrates the unconscious meanings of its urban context in the same way as Notre-Dame, situated on the Ile de la Cite, does for Paris. It manifests the spirit of the city...” (Curtis 2010) This reiterates the point of symbolism being the most powerful tool that an architect has at his disposal. The abstract symbolism of the opera house in the form of the sails of a boat, which is completely unobstructed by any view and is almost floating in the middle of Sydney harbour, is the iconic symbol for not only Sydney but the whole of Australia.
Curtis, Willian J. R., Modern Architecture since 1900, London, 2010
Drew, Phillip., Sydney opera house Jørn Utzon- Architecture in detail, London, 1995
Utzon, Jørn., Sydney opera house Utzon design principles, 2002
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