20
October
marks
50
years
since
the
Sydney
Opera
House
was
officially
opened.
Architecture
Professor
Cameron
Logan,
School
of
Architecture,
Design
and
Planning
said:
“The
Sydney
Opera
House
is
much
more
than
its
remarkable
form
and
extraordinary
setting.
“But,
while
famously
dismissed
as
a
“circus
tent”
by
Frank
Lloyd-Wright,
the
form
and
setting
of
Utzon’s
masterwork
have
come
to
embody
Sydney.
“The
Opera
House
has
shaped
contemporary
conceptions
of
the
city
among
its
own
inhabitants
and
provides
a
reference
point
for
visitors
from
all
parts
of
the
world.
“In
recent
years
the
state
government
and
its
consultants
have
attempted
to
capture
its
value
in
dollar
terms,
but
its
value
to
the
city
ultimately
exceeds
and
resists
all
quantification.”
Construction
and
engineering
Dr
Faham
Tahmasebinia,
School
of
Civil
Engineering,
Faculty
of
Engineering
said:”The
Sydney
Opera
House
heralded
a
new
era
of
concrete,
constructed
during
the
relatively
early
days
of
prestressing
in
Australia,
a
method
which
increases
the
performance
of
concrete
over
time.”
“The
early
design
concept
was
predicated
on
a
reinforced
shell
construction,
which
proved
far
too
problematic
to
construct.
To
realise
Utzon’s
vision,
engineers
and
architects
conceived
a
precast
‘rib’
solution,
with
all
the
segments
stressed
together
on-site.”
