Australia mourn loss of Opera House brain
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AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Aralık 01, 2008 00:00
SYDNEY - Australia on Sunday mourned the death of Danish architect Joern Utzon, who designed Sydney's iconic, sail-shaped Opera House but never saw his building completed.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd led the tributes to Utzon, who died in Copenhagen aged 90, describing him as a visionary whose legacy includes one of the world's most spectacular and inspiring structures.
"This opera house is not just Sydney's great symbol to the world, it is Australia's great symbol to the world. And we owe this great symbol to this great man who has now passed away," Rudd said.
New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees said Australia was indebted to Utzon for the "architectural masterpiece" which draws some 7.5 million visitors each year.
The Opera House Trust, which maintains and operates the building and which works with Utzon's son Jan on modifications, said he was, "an architectural and creative genius who gave Australia and the world a great gift."
Utzon won a 1956 competition to design the building and began work the following year on a distinctive design which featured the off-white "sails" pointing toward the harbour. But a storm of controversy over Utzon's artistic vision saw him quit the project in 1966 and he never returned to Australia to see his revolutionary concept as a finished building.When Britain's Queen Elizabeth II opened the Opera House in 1973, the building's interior was not that of Utzon's design and several unplanned venues had been added.
Sydney Opera House Chief Executive Richard Evans said the building had changed the way Australia thought of itself. "That an opera house is a symbol of a very young country is, I think, quite remarkable," he said.
Photo: AP
"This opera house is not just Sydney's great symbol to the world, it is Australia's great symbol to the world. And we owe this great symbol to this great man who has now passed away," Rudd said.
New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees said Australia was indebted to Utzon for the "architectural masterpiece" which draws some 7.5 million visitors each year.
The Opera House Trust, which maintains and operates the building and which works with Utzon's son Jan on modifications, said he was, "an architectural and creative genius who gave Australia and the world a great gift."
Utzon won a 1956 competition to design the building and began work the following year on a distinctive design which featured the off-white "sails" pointing toward the harbour. But a storm of controversy over Utzon's artistic vision saw him quit the project in 1966 and he never returned to Australia to see his revolutionary concept as a finished building.When Britain's Queen Elizabeth II opened the Opera House in 1973, the building's interior was not that of Utzon's design and several unplanned venues had been added.
Sydney Opera House Chief Executive Richard Evans said the building had changed the way Australia thought of itself. "That an opera house is a symbol of a very young country is, I think, quite remarkable," he said.
Photo: AP