GREAT ARCHITECTURE

I was struck recently by a friend canvassing a small of group over dinner about what makes great architecture. Is it form, function, frugality, all these things or other things. Great buildings: what immediately came to my mind was Jørn Utzon’s Opera House. This should not be surprising, I live in the city that is the location for this master’s work.

As a designer myself in a past life, I was fortunate enough to be commissioned to do the Scenic Design and Art Direction on a Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth which was staged in this venue. It was my workplace for several months, so I was able to absorb the function and form of the building, close up, worts and all.

It is easily the most visually unusual, pleasing and remarkable building I have ever seen. It captivates the viewer, drawing on non verbal aesthetics, stirring deeply felt emotions. The scale of the soft sweeping gothic shells as roofing juxtaposed against brutal geometric lines of the base walls, floors and windows is at times breathtaking beside the sparkling waters of Sydney Harbour.

For those of us who have had difficult clients, imagine dealing with the bureaucracy and machinations of changing governments, fuelled by the out-of-control egos of the politically appointed team of architects, each one harbouring competitive jealousies, plus the economic project managers who ultimately held sway over everyone and every thing to do with the project

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Outraged that his concept was becoming a patchwork quilt, Mr Utzon resigned before construction was completed. His masterpiece had been modified by a committee that cut the quilt to cover their own various agendas

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Financed from the proceeds of a government lottery, cost overruns caused by unique construction materials and engineering methods became a moot point. A gambling nation foot the bill for Australia’s only internationally recognised man made masterpiece

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