B.V.D.U.C.O.

BOOK CASE STUDY ON

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

GUIDED BY
AR. JYOTI GIDWIR

SUBMITTED BY
PRASEN SABALE
FINAL YEAR-PART-2

LOCATION MAP

INTRODUCTION

Sydney opera house is multivenue performing arts centre in Sydney, new south Wales , Australia
situated on Bennelong point In Sydney harbor r bridge close to Sydney harbor
It was designed by Danish architect john utzon ,construction started in 1959 & was completed in
in 1972
It is one of the most famous performing arts centre in the world which represents Australia
It costs around 102 million dollars to built the Sydney opera house, which represents
expressionist style of architecture
the Sydney opera house became UNECSO world heritage site in June 2007
Adjacent facilities are Sydney central business district & the royal botanic gardens
Though its name suggests a single venue , the project comprises multiple performance venues
which together are among the busiest performing arts centre in the world hosting over 1.500
performances each year attended by some 1.2 million people
The building covers
The total seating capacity of the Sydney opera house is 5.200.
The building covers 1.8 hectors ( 4.4 acres) of land
Includes 1000 rooms Is 185 meters long and 120 meters wide
Has 2194 pre-cast concrete sections as its roof Has roof sections weighing up to 15 tons Has roof
sections held together by 350 km of tensioned steel cable
Has 2194 pre-cast concrete sections as its roof Has roof sections weighing up to 15 tons Has roof
sections held together by 350 km of tensioned steel cable

ARCHITECTURE
Sydney opera house houses
following performance venues
The Concert Hall, with 2,679 seats, the
home of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and
used by a large number of other concert
presenters. It contains the Sydney Opera
House Grand Organ, the largest mechanical
tracker action organ in the world, with over
10,000 pipes
The Joan Sutherland Theatre, a proscenium
theatre with 1,507 seats,[the Sydney home
of Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet.
Until 16 October 2012 it was known as the
Opera Theatre
The Drama Theatre, a proscenium theatre
with 544 seats, used by the Sydney Theatre
Company and other dance and theatrical
presenters
The Playhouse, an end-stage theatre with
398 seats

ARCHITECTURE
The Studio, a flexible space with a maximum capacity of
400, depending on configuration.
The Utzon Room, a small multi-purpose venue, seating
up to 210.
The Forecourt, a flexible open-air venue with a wide
range of configuration options, including the possibility
of utilizing the Monumental Steps as audience seating,
used for a range of community events and major
outdoor performances. The Forecourt will be closed to
visitors and performances in 20112014 to construct a
new entrance tunnel to a rebuilt loading dock for the
Joan Sutherland Theatre.
Other areas (for example the northern and western
foyers) are also used for performances on an occasional
basis. Venues are also used for conferences, ceremonies
and social functions
The building also houses a recording studio, cafes,
restaurants and bars and retail outlets. Guided tours are
available, including a frequent tour of the front-of-house
spaces, and a daily backstage tour that takes visitors
backstage to see areas normally reserved for performers
and crew members.

3rd & the main floor plan

1st floor plan

2nd floor plan

Section

ABOUT BUILDING

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

The Fort Macquarie Tram Depot, occupying the site at the time of these plans, was
demolished in 1958 and construction began in March 1959. It was built in three stages: stage
I (19591963) consisted of building the upper podium; stage II (19631967) the construction
of the outer shells; stage III (19671973) interior design and construction.

STAGE 1 - PODIUM

Stage 1 was commenced In march 1959 ,however the architect had still not completed the
final design
Major structural issues remain unsolved till January 1961 ,work was running 47 weeks late
due to the unexpected difficulties like inclement whether , diverting storm water
Work on podium was finally completed in February 1963 ,the forced early start led to the
significant later problems which was the fact that podium columns were not strong enough
to support the roof structure & had to be re-built

STAGE 2- ROOF

From 1957 to 1963 the design team went through at least 12 iteration of the form of the
shell trying to find the economical acceptable form
In mid-1961, the design team found a solution to the problem: the shells all being created as
sections from a sphere.
This solution allows arches of varying length to be cast in a common mould, and a number of
arch segments of common length to be placed adjacent to one another, to form a spherical
section.

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

STAGE 3 INTERIORS
The cost of the project
so far, even in October
1966, was still only
$22.9 million, less than
a quarter of the final
$102 million cost

The second stage of construction was

progressing toward completion when Utzon
resigned. His position was principally taken
over by Peter Hall, who became largely
responsible for the interior design.

Opera house

drama theatre

Concert hall

Pros & cons

Pros

The programmed for the Sydney opera house is so unique , which has fantastic site with beautiful
& demanding position Bennelong point
the grand staircase which is 100 meters wide is an important feature with platue on the top which
act as gathering place , town square or outdoor stadium
Elevation of the building which is worked with the form of the building achieving nice circulation
& planning
Structure immediately represents expressionist style of architecture
Acoustically sound
Nice interiors with good use of lighting & stage designing
Australia s iconic building which represents global symbol of Australia
The highest point of the building is 67 meters above from the sea level

CONS

Construction was started before completion of the design which resulted into structural proble
During the work was in progress
Lack of boundary condition that leads to some earth work as a sub base for the strucutre
foundation

PROS & CONS

CONS
The design was suppose to be completed in 5 years at the cost of 5 million dollars which took
14 years to complete at the cost of 102 million
the roof shells were too heavy for the supporting coloums which were already built so this
were demolished & rebuilt
The foundation been demolished to built the new one which will carry & transfer the load of
designed roof shells