Jørn Utzon
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Jørn Utzon, AC (born April 9, 1918) is a Danish architect most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House in Australia.
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[edit] Biography
Utzon was born in Copenhagen as the son of a naval engineer, and grew up in Denmark. From 1937 he studied architecture at the University of Copenhagen and worked for Alvar Aalto and Frank Lloyd Wright. He started his own office in 1950 in Copenhagen. In 1957 he unexpectedly won the competition to design the Sydney Opera House, despite the fact that it was his first non-domestic design and his entry did not meet the contest criteria; the designs he submitted were little more than preliminary drawings. One of the judges, Eero Saarinen, described it as "genius" and declared he could not endorse any other choice. In contrast, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe turned his back when introduced to Utzon.
Over several years Utzon gradually made major changes from his original concept designs and gradually developed a way to construct the large shells that cover the two halls, replacing the original elliptical shells with a design based on complex sections of a sphere. Utzon says his design was inspired by the simple act of peeling an orange: the 14 shells of the building, if combined, would form a perfect sphere.[citation needed]
Although Utzon had spectacular plans for the interior of these halls, he was unable to realize this part of his design. In mid-1965 the state Liberal government of Robert Askin was elected and Utzon soon found himself in conflict with the new Minister for Public Works, Davis Hughes. Attempting to rein in the escalating cost of the project, Hughes began questioning Utzon's designs, schedules and cost estimates, and he eventually stopped the payments to Utzon, who was forced to resign as chief architect in February 1966. He secretly left the country days later, never to return.
In an article in Harvard Design Magazine in 2005, [1] Professor Bent Flyvbjerg argues that Utzon fell victim to a politically lowballed construction budget, which eventually resulted in a cost overrun of 1,400 per cent. The overrun and the scandal it created kept Utzon from building more masterpieces. This, according to Flyvbjerg, is the real cost of the Sydney Opera House.
The Opera House was finally completed, and opened in 1973 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. The architect was not invited to the ceremony, nor was his name mentioned.[citation needed]
In March 2003, Utzon was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Sydney for his work on the Opera House. Utzon's son accepted the award on his behalf as he himself was too ill to travel to Australia. Utzon has also been made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) and given the Keys to the City of Sydney. He has also been involved in redesigning the Opera House, and in particular, the Reception Hall, following an agreement made in 2000. Also, in 2003, he received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honor.
In March 2006, Queen Elizabeth II opened the western colonnade addition to the building that was constructed by Utzon in the last years without his having been to Australia since 1966. His son, Jan, took his place in the opening ceremony instead, saying his father "is too old by now to take the long flight to Australia. But he lives and breathes the Opera House, and as its creator he just has to close his eyes to see it."
On 29 June 2007, the Sydney Opera House was declared a World Heritage site.[1]
[edit] Architectural works
Major built projects:
- Water tower in Svaneke, Bornholm, Denmark, 1949-1951
- Architect's own house, Hellebæk, Denmark, 1950-1952 image
- Middelboe house, Holte, Denmark, 1953-1955 image
- Kingohusene, courtyard housing in Elsinore, 1956-1960 image
- Elineberg Housing, Helsingborg, Sweden, 1954-1966. Built by Swedish partners Erik and Henry Andersson image
- Planetstaden housing project in Lund, Sweden, 1956-1958. Built by Swedish partners Erik and Henry Andersson.
- Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia, 1956-1973
- Fredensborghusene, courtyard housing, Fredensborg, Denmark, 1959-1965 image
- Melli Bank, Teheran, Iran, 1959-1960 archnet page
- Hammershøj care centre, Elsinore, Denmark, 1962-1966. Built by Birger Schmidt. image
- Bagsværd Church, Bagsværd, Denmark, 1968-1976 image
- Espansiva building system, pre-fabricated single family houses, Denmark, 1969
- Can Lis, Architect's own house, Mallorca, Spain, 1971-1973 image
- National Assembly of Kuwait, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 1972-1984 archnet page
- Paustian Furniture Store, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1985-1987 image
- Can Feliz, Mallorca, Spain, 1991-1994
Major unbuilt projects:
- High School in Elsinore, Denmark, 1958-1962
- Architect's own house, Bayview, Sydney, Australia, 1963-1965
- Museum dedicated to the work of artist Asger Jorn, Silkeborg, Denmark, 1963
- Theatre, Zurich, Switzerland, 1964-1970
- Jeita Theatre, Lebanon, 1968.
- Stadium, Jedda, Saudi Arabia, 1969
[edit] Literature
- Arkitektur (magazine), Copenhagen 1947 #7-9, essay Tendenser i nutidens arkitektur by Jørn Utzon and Tobias Faber
- Arkitektur (magazine), Copenhagen 1970 #1, essay Additiv arkitektur by Jørn Utzon
- Zodiac 5 (magazine), Milan 1959
- Zodiac 10 (magazine), Milan 1962, essay Platforms and Plateaus: Ideas of a Danish Architect by Jørn Utzon
- Zodiac 14 (magazine), Milan 1965
- Sigfried Gideon: Space, Time and Architecture. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1967
- Kenneth Frampton: Studies in Tectonic Culture. Cambridge, Mass. & London: MIT-Press, 1995. ISBN 0-262-56149-2
- Françoise Fromonot: Jørn Utzon, The Sydney Opera House. Corte Madera, California: Gingko Press, 1998. ISBN 3-927258-72-5
- Richard Weston: Utzon - Inspiration, Vision, Architecture. Denmark: Edition Bløndal, 2002. ISBN 87-88978-98-2
- J.J. Ferrer Forés: Jørn Utzon. Obras y Proyectos. Works and Projects. Spain: GG 2006. ISBN 978-84-252-2060-9
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Utzon Center
- Pritzker Architecture Prize 2003, including essays and photographs.
- The Kingohouses website
- The Sydney Opera House history
- The Edge of the Possible, 58 minute documentary, 1998, Dir: Daryl Dellora, Film Art Doco Pty Ltd
- Design by Deception: The Politics of Megaproject Approval
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