Following my tour of 1 and 2, I went to consolidate my thoughts in the Museum of Sydney cafe. This is where I met Satis Arnold, a rather eccentric, passionate character. He was specifically concerned about climate change and is working with Charlie Veron.
He recommended that I do the Uzton walking tour guided by Ewan (welsh pron), which was the following weekend. So, I did and it was fantastic. It was a wonderful presentation of Utzon's concepts and inspiration, the architectural competition and the political background to the building of the Opera House.
Interesting ideas for me:
—That Utzon was so inspired by ruins, he studied them when conjuring up his own vision. There seems a logic to look to the past to see what has been successful; what has endured the passage of time and the functioning life of the building.
—That Utzon was so inspired by nature, by fish and the Great Barrier Reef. Skin and the surface of a structure or being within its natural environment provide clues to the idea within.
—That with projections of climate change and sea level rise that the Opera House may be surrounded by water and fish, with its Mayan temple-like base swallowed up by the rising oceans.
—That when you rub concrete with soda water it turns white, because of the mica inside the concrete. I imagine that was discovered when someone had a spillage.
—That he had persuaded Picasso to paint a mural and Le Corbusier to give his creativity to the Opera House project.
—That the Danes slice their oranges up in a geometrical way and upon seeing the skin Utzon knew the solution to his architectural problem.
I emailed the Opera House about the little statue that was presented by Utzon's daughter:
I have an idea that I'd like to share. Picture the small podium outside the top entrance of the Opera house; it has the half sphere showing how Utzon created his shapes for the shells of the Opera House (dedicated by his daughter). This model would make a great souvenir or toy for children. You would have the semi-circle with removable pieces, so that you can make your own simple Opera House. It could be made from wood or metal.
Response from the Sydney Opera House infodesk:
Hi Jasmine,
Thank you for your comment; we are in the process of sampling the item now.
Look for it in around 6 months.
Regards
Heath
Look out for it! The pieces fit inside the circular shape.
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