Hullo everyone~! Jing's posting here.
Have you guys heard of the Sydney Opera House? :P Well, I'm sure most of us or perhaps anyone reading this would have some rough idea of the Sydney Opera House. How can we ever miss this incredible architecture designed by a mathematician when we say Australia? >.<
But, seriously, if you're still clueless now, let me show you how the icon at the Sydney Harbour looks like!
We are very interested in this great architecture as its history goes all the way back to year 1957. Hmm.. does the year ring a bell in your head? *Merdeka year for M'sia* hehe -.-
This layout were modified from the initial sketches of a mathematician by the name of Jorn Utzon. And how was he inspired? Here comes the interesting part!
According to history, John Utzon was sitting on his bench one evening, peeling the oranges. He soon discovered that the peels were of different sizes of triangles and that these triangles could be stacked on atop the other. (we'll go into the details later in this post. sorry for keeping you dumbfounded -.-)
He then meddled with the orange's peels till he managed to join the segments together to form a 3-dimensional design. Jorn Utzon proposed the radical idea of huge shell-shaped structures extruding outwards. Thus, he came up with the outstanding roofs called shells, which lies on top of the podium and the wings.
And thus, in the year 1959, the construction began. The construction process was not a smooth sail due to the over mounting cost which was 14 times the original budget. Jorn Utzon was also forced to leave Australia and leave this project. Till today, he never got to see it completed.
The Sydney Opera House was formally completed in the year 1973 and officiated by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. Jorn Utzon was never mentioned nor was he invited to the ceremony.
As I have mentioned earlier, if you can still remember, the Sydney Opera House consists of podium and the roofs (shells). The shells, I believe, is one of the most captivating rooftops we've seen in the world. It's no wonder that in the year 2007, it was made a UNESCO World Heritage site.
As we can see, the shells are made out of spheres. The sketches of Jorn Utzon were done in parabolic surface, ellipsoid schemes and circular arc. Using the same radius for all the shells, ridges are made and the circular arcs are carved in wood.
Each shell is made of a series of segments called "ribs"
These ribs are conceived using triangular shapes and parallel lines.
The Sydney Opera House consists of two halls; the major and the minor. From the outside, these halls sit on the podium facing the north wing.
Also, since all the podiums are elevated, it resembles a sail sitting on the waters of Sydney.
Have you guys heard of the Sydney Opera House? :P Well, I'm sure most of us or perhaps anyone reading this would have some rough idea of the Sydney Opera House. How can we ever miss this incredible architecture designed by a mathematician when we say Australia? >.<
But, seriously, if you're still clueless now, let me show you how the icon at the Sydney Harbour looks like!
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| The Sydney Opera House close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge |
This layout were modified from the initial sketches of a mathematician by the name of Jorn Utzon. And how was he inspired? Here comes the interesting part!
According to history, John Utzon was sitting on his bench one evening, peeling the oranges. He soon discovered that the peels were of different sizes of triangles and that these triangles could be stacked on atop the other. (we'll go into the details later in this post. sorry for keeping you dumbfounded -.-)
He then meddled with the orange's peels till he managed to join the segments together to form a 3-dimensional design. Jorn Utzon proposed the radical idea of huge shell-shaped structures extruding outwards. Thus, he came up with the outstanding roofs called shells, which lies on top of the podium and the wings.
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| Wooden model of the Sydney Opera House |
The Sydney Opera House was formally completed in the year 1973 and officiated by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. Jorn Utzon was never mentioned nor was he invited to the ceremony.
As I have mentioned earlier, if you can still remember, the Sydney Opera House consists of podium and the roofs (shells). The shells, I believe, is one of the most captivating rooftops we've seen in the world. It's no wonder that in the year 2007, it was made a UNESCO World Heritage site.
As we can see, the shells are made out of spheres. The sketches of Jorn Utzon were done in parabolic surface, ellipsoid schemes and circular arc. Using the same radius for all the shells, ridges are made and the circular arcs are carved in wood.
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| In a parabolic scheme, all the shells belong to a single sphere and hence have the same radius of curvature |
Each shell is made of a series of segments called "ribs"
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| Ribs in triangular shapes and parallel lines |
Also, since all the podiums are elevated, it resembles a sail sitting on the waters of Sydney.
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| North Elevation |
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| South Elevation |
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| East Elevation |
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| West Elevation |
Construction works were divided into three stages namely the podium, the roof which are made up of concrete shells and finally the crafting of the interiors.
The podium gives the impression of a strong base from the exterior, but on the inside, it fills many rooms and corridors where dancers, actors, musicians and artists share the space for rehearsals and meetings.
Back in 1949, Utzon was awarded a study trip to the America. He visited several architects in the north of the States including Mies Van de Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright and Eero Saarinen. He then travelled to the South of America to explore the Chichen Itza in the Yucatan, Mexico. The remarkable platforms of the ancient Yucatan left an extremely deep impression on Utzon. He looked at how these platforms elevated the people in the past from their daily life where beneath the sky, they could commune with their God. This idea is elementally expressed in the Sydney Opera House. Its long pathway of stairs eventually leads up to a plateau where the people can commune with the arts.
The structure of the canopy elevated and transported away people from their everyday life.
One of the most amazing feature of the podium is the concourse beam. The beams not only support the strong weight of the roof, at the same time it embellishes the interior design of the concourse area.
The construction of the roofs had 2 major problems which arise from Utzon's sketches of the roofs. Firstly, despite the significant changes in the proposals from 1957 to 1959, each shell remains unique, precluding prefabrication of the form which had effects on the ease of construction and cost. Almost all buildings apply the principles of prefabrication. Fabrication is done in factories so that construction consists of standardized parts. Utzon however remained positive that the shell structure with a smooth finish like an egg would be possible despite the unique form of each shell.
The podium gives the impression of a strong base from the exterior, but on the inside, it fills many rooms and corridors where dancers, actors, musicians and artists share the space for rehearsals and meetings.
Back in 1949, Utzon was awarded a study trip to the America. He visited several architects in the north of the States including Mies Van de Rohe, Frank Lloyd Wright and Eero Saarinen. He then travelled to the South of America to explore the Chichen Itza in the Yucatan, Mexico. The remarkable platforms of the ancient Yucatan left an extremely deep impression on Utzon. He looked at how these platforms elevated the people in the past from their daily life where beneath the sky, they could commune with their God. This idea is elementally expressed in the Sydney Opera House. Its long pathway of stairs eventually leads up to a plateau where the people can commune with the arts.
The structure of the canopy elevated and transported away people from their everyday life.
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| Structure of the canopy which is at the end of the stairs leading to a plateau of theater. |
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| The concourse beams with no horizontal planes |
The first problem led to another; whether to approach the roof as a 'Shell' or a 'Rib' structure?
Eventually, the roofs undergo an evolution of sketches by lead engineers over a period of 4 years. There schemes are first in parabolic and eventually turning into an ellipsoid scheme.
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| The early parabolic scheme |
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| The ellipsoid scheme in June 1961 |
Finally, Utzon resolved the burden when he successfully made the ribs out of only one wooden block of sphere. For further details, you can have a look at the video at the end of this post!
After the completion of the roof, glass panes were fitted onto the roofs and finally the Sydney Opera House is what we see now!
As for the conclusion, the Sydney Opera House is the hard work and perseverance of many citizens which contributed to this modern architecture. Despite the lack of safety precautions back in the 1960-s, only one death was recorded on the construction site. The quest of an ideal and the faith of attainment is one of the oldest kinds of human story. Before I round up this post, I quote:
After the completion of the roof, glass panes were fitted onto the roofs and finally the Sydney Opera House is what we see now!
As for the conclusion, the Sydney Opera House is the hard work and perseverance of many citizens which contributed to this modern architecture. Despite the lack of safety precautions back in the 1960-s, only one death was recorded on the construction site. The quest of an ideal and the faith of attainment is one of the oldest kinds of human story. Before I round up this post, I quote:
"Such a building will be the Sydney Opera House and it will stand not merely as an outstanding architecture or even as a world famous opera house, but as a shrine in which the great artists of the world may be seen and heard and our own artists may display the flowering of Australian culture"
JJ Cahill
Premier of New South Wales
And! Finally, enjoy this great animation! Till then >.<
