Sydney Opera House (Australia) - building in the style of modern expressionism, symbol of Australia

Opera building is an architectural fantasy adapted to the modern era of space travel. It is one of the most famous symbols of Australia.

The winner of the best design competition announced in 1956 was Dane Jörn Utson, his project was selected from 222 projects from 32 countries around the world. As the winner he was awarded 5,000 pounds.

The opera building is 183 meters long and 120 meters wide. The roof, 67 m high, is covered with 2194 sections, each weighing 15 tons.

The skeleton of the roof weighs 161000 tons and supports 350 km of cable. More than a million Swedish anti-fungal ceramic tiles have been laid on "sails" that shine in the sun and do not require cleaning.

In the building there are concrete ceiling vaults supported on steel ribs and 6225 m² of colored glass. There are also the largest curtains in the world, and the largest mechanical organs. The total length of electric cables is 645 kilometers.

There are five halls in the building where theater and ballet performances and concerts take place, there is also a cinema and two restaurants. There are 1,550 people in the opera house, 2,700 in concert theater, 550 in theater, and 420 people in the chamber music hall.

Every week, about 40 performances and concerts take place in the opera. The construction of the huge organs located there took 10 years, they are the largest in the world, they have 10 154 pipes.

The construction of the opera lasted 10 years longer than originally thought.

Initially assumed cost of construction was to amount to 7 million dollars, but its cost increased to 102 million, similarly the construction time, instead of the planned 4 years, the Opera was completed only after 14 years. When the construction costs increased, Utzon (Pritzker Prize winner in 2003) withdrew and completed construction: Peter Hall, Lionel Todd and David Littlemore.

Every year, the opera attracts over 8.2 million tourists, which translates into revenues of one billion dollars. In addition, over 12,000 people find additional work.

The building was opened in 1973 by Queen Elisabeth II, she has visited him four times since then.

Opera is cooled by sea water taken directly from the port. Circulating through a total length of 35 kilometers, it is both heated and used for cooling and air conditioning.

In 2015, the building received 4 stars and an ecological certificate from the Green Building Council of Australia.

The building is open 363 days a year, it is closed only on Christmas and Good Friday.

Sydney Opera was in 2007 inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.