Sydney Opera House | Australia, 1973
Almost exactly a century after Brazil gained independence from the Spanish, Australia gained independence from the British on January 1st, 1901. After joining the British in both the first and the second world wars, the 50s, 60s and 70s saw renewed support for the arts and an ambitious project in Sydney’s harbour began to take shape. In 1955 an international design competition was launched for a new opera house and, in 1957, the Dane, Jørn Utzon was announced as the winner.
Left: Arvin Wiyono on Unsplash & Right: Paul Carmona on Unsplash
The groundbreaking design would take over 14 years to complete and stands today as one of the most recognisable buildings in the world. The roof of the opera house is made up of a series of shells, representing sails used to traverse the waters in front of which it sits. Its interior contains 6 performance spaces including a concert hall that seats up to 2000 people. Aside from the works of art it houses, the Sydney Opera House is part of one of the most interesting and creative festivals in the world; Vivid Sydney is an annual festival in Australia’s capital, which celebrates both light and music and sees the roof of the opera house lit up with spectacular projections.
Excuse me! Are you on Pinterest?! Here are a couple of pins! Right: Srikant Sahoo on Unsplash
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This post is part of an expanded series taken from 37 Wonders of the World in Chronological Order. You can click the link to read more or navigate between individual photo posts beneath the gallery.
Left: Kewal on Unsplash & Right: Jesse Hammer on Unsplash
Left: Quentin Grignet on Unsplash & Right: Henrique Félix on Unsplash