By At a glance: Sydney Opera House
- Location
- Bennelong Point, Sydney, Australia
- Built
- 1959–1973
- Type
- Performing arts centre · Engineering
- Style
- Expressionist modernism
- Commissioned by
- Government of New South Wales
- Architects & builders
- Jørn Utzon; interiors completed by Peter Hall's team; engineers Ove Arup & Partners
- Materials
- Precast concrete ribs and shells, glazed ceramic tiles, glass
- Size
- Highest shell about 67 m above sea level; over 1 million roof tiles
Sydney Opera House: what it is
The New South Wales government held a design competition in 1956. Utzon's entry was a set of sketches rather than detailed drawings, but the judges chose it from more than 200 entries.
The project ran ten years late and far over budget, from an early estimate of A$7 million to a final cost of A$102 million. It opened on 20 October 1973 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007, while Utzon was still alive.
Sydney Opera House, then and now
Real images only: an earlier view and a recent photograph, each credited and linked to its original file. Switch between them or compare side by side.
Then · 1965Now · TodayMove across the image to compareSydney Opera House: how it was designed
- 01
The spherical solution
For years, engineers could not find a way to define and build the free-form shells. Around 1961–62 Utzon proposed deriving them all from one sphere, so their ribs could be precast in a few standard curves.
- 02
A platform and a roof
Utzon separated the building into a massive stepped podium, inspired by Mayan platforms, and light shells floating above it — earth and sky.
- 03
Tiles that clean themselves
The shells are covered with 1,056,006 glazed white and matte cream tiles made in Sweden. Their surface lets rain wash them clean and gives the roof its changing shimmer.
Construction timeline
Utzon wins the design competition.
Construction of the podium begins.
Utzon develops the spherical solution for the shells.
After conflict with the state government over costs and design, Utzon resigns and leaves Australia.
Queen Elizabeth II opens the Opera House.
The Utzon Room, the only interior designed by Utzon, opens; UNESCO inscription follows in 2007.
How the design changed
Interiors by another hand
After Utzon left, Peter Hall's team redesigned the interiors and glass walls; the main hall was switched from opera to concerts. Utzon's original interior ideas were never built.
Reconciliation with the architect
From 1999 Utzon was re-engaged to write design principles for future changes. He never returned to Australia and died in 2008 without seeing the finished building.
Who built it
Jørn Utzon designed it; Ove Arup & Partners, with engineer Peter Rice among others, worked out the structure; Hornibrook built the shells. Architects Peter Hall, Lionel Todd and David Littlemore completed the interiors after 1966. Utzon received the Pritzker Prize in 2003.
Where it is
Bennelong Point, Sydney, Australia · 33.8571° S, 151.2149° E · Open in OpenStreetMap. Nearest in this guide: Borobudur (5,113 km), Angkor Wat (7,260 km), Tōdai-ji (7,788 km).
5,113 km7,260 km7,788 kmSydney Opera HouseDrag to pan, use + and − or double-click to zoom, and tap any pin for a preview.
Built around the same time
| Monument | Country | Built | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christ the Redeemer | Brazil | 1922–1931 | 37 years earlier |
| Burj Khalifa | United Arab Emirates | 2004–2010 (opened 4 January 2010) | 45 years later |
| Great Mosque of Djenné | Mali | 1906–1907 (first mosque on the site 13th century) | 53 years earlier |
| Eiffel Tower | France | 28 January 1887 – 31 March 1889 | 72 years earlier |
Sydney Opera House: questions people ask
Who designed the Sydney Opera House?
Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who won the 1957 design competition. Peter Hall's team completed the interiors after Utzon resigned in 1966.
How long did it take to build the Sydney Opera House?
About 14 years, from 1959 to its opening on 20 October 1973, ten years later than planned.
How are the Sydney Opera House shells shaped?
All the shells are sections cut from the surface of a single sphere, which allowed their concrete ribs to be precast from standard moulds.
How many tiles are on the Sydney Opera House?
The roof shells are covered with 1,056,006 glazed ceramic tiles in white and cream, made in Sweden.
Sources & image credits
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Sydney Opera House
- Wikipedia — Sydney Opera House
- Sydney Opera House — official site, history
- Current photograph: Sydney Australia. (21339175489).jpg by Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand, CC0 — original on Wikimedia Commons · licence.
- Historic image: SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE under construction 1965.tif by Len Stone photograph collection, CC BY 4.0 — original on Wikimedia Commons · licence.
- Coordinates from Wikidata. Images resized and converted to WebP; otherwise unaltered. Checked October 25, 2026.
More to wander into
- World monument · 1173–1372Leaning Tower of PisaA bell tower that began to lean in 1178 and was built curved to compensate.
- World monument · c. 11th–15th century CEGreat ZimbabweMortarless granite walls of an African kingdom, once falsely credited to outsiders.
- World monument · c. 246–208 BCE; found 1974Terracotta ArmyEight thousand clay soldiers, mass-produced yet individual, once brightly painted.
- World monument · Late 12th – early 13th century (traditional dating)Rock-Hewn Churches of LalibelaChurches carved down into the ground, still in daily use after 800 years.
- World monument · 8th century CE (mainly under Krishna I, r. c. 756–773)Kailasa Temple, ElloraA complete temple carved downward out of one basalt hill.
- World monument · Al-Khazneh: about the 1st century CEPetra — Al-Khazneh (the Treasury)A royal tomb carved top-down into a rose-red cliff, at the end of a narrow gorge.
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