Architects and Architecture

Demonstration model of the opera house, Sydney

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SydneyOperaHouse

Demonstration model of the opera house, Sydney, Australia
Jorn Utzon (born 1918)
About 1961
Painted wood; built 1956–73
RIBA Library Drawings Collection


The roof structure of Utzon’s competition-winning design could not be built as planned as the shell forms of the roof were irregular and structurally unsound. Utzon’s solution was to take all the forms from a single sphere, as shown in this demonstration model. This allowed all the shell components to be calculated and then prefabricated.

 

 


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Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund