It was in Finding Nemo – that means it must be important! All joking aside, Sydney, Australia’s famed Opera House is often called the masterpiece of late modern architecture and is our February installment of our Historic Roofing Series.
A national landmark of Australia, the Opera House boasts a reputation as a premier performing arts center and an official place on the World Heritage List by UNESCO. Inaugurated in 1973 just after it was completed, the center was designed by Denmark’s Jørn Utzon after an international design competition in 1956 called for the best architectural talent in the world to design two performance halls.
The design’s structure and “distinctive roof comprises sets of interlocking vaulted ‘shells’ set upon a vast terraced platform and surrounded by terrace areas that function as pedestrian concourses,” according to their site.
The famous shells are constructed of off-white tiles that glistens in the sun and glows in the moon while the podium’s granite panel bring more earth tones to the structure, costing over $100 million to build.
Check back monthly for our Historic Roofing Series and much more!