Architect Jørn Utzon, father of the Sydney Opera House, passed away in Copenhagen

Architect Jørn Utzon, father of the Sydney Opera House, passed away in Copenhagen

Jørn Utzon passed away in Copenhagen on 2 December 2008 at the age of 90. His name is associated with one of the most emblematic buildings of the 20th century, the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

In 1957 this little known architect won the UNESCO-UIA international competition for the design of the Opera House. Differences with the authorities of New South Wales over delays and expenses pushed him to abandon the construction site and leave Australia in 1966. The building continued under the supervision of Peter Hall, David Littlemore and Lionel Todd, and the opera was inaugurated in 1973.

Jørn Utzon settled and continued working in Denmark. He realised the housing complex at Fredensborg between 1959 and 1962 and the one in Kingo from 1956 to 1958, the Bagsvaerdchurch from 1973 to 1976, the Skagen NatureCentre in 2001. In 1982 he completed the Kuwait Parliament. Beginning in 1985 his sons Jan and Kim continued the activities of his firm and participated in the restoration of the Sydney Opera House.

In 2003, JørnUtzon was awarded the Pritzker Prize for Architecture and in 2007, the Opera House was inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. This double consecration attests to the greatness of Jørn Utzon’s work.

Louise Cox, UIA President, pays homage to him in these terms:
“The Opera House is my favorite building and I look at it everyday. Jørn Utzon was a remarkable man, an architect of great depth and understanding, who gave Sydney a gift that will never be forgotten. I am ashamed of how he was treated by the NSW Government, who did not understand how he worked at all.”

“The materials he used for the Sydney Opera House and the beautiful craftsmanship of the formwork for the concrete roof sails is still remarkable today. “

“This building is now the icon of Sydney and everyone loves it. Sometimes it takes a long time for the community to know and embrace their masterpieces. Sydney would not be the city it is without the Opera House, ‘shimmering’ on the edge of the harbour, but tied back delicately into this harbour city.”