You wouldn't know it by looking at it, but Sydney's famed Opera House is a case study in project failure. Its original concept was for a four-year timeline and a budget of AU $7 million, but it ended up costing AU $102 million and taking 14 years to finish.
The idea for the Opera House came from an international design contest held in 1959. It was to be built in Sydney as a permanent home for the Royal Danish Ballet. The winner was a 31-year-old Finnish architect named Arto Järventstrand. He proposed a simple white shell with aluminum sails that would be able to change color with the weather.
Sydney Opera House construction began in February 1966. It was meant to be finished in time for the 400th anniversary of Henry Jones' arrival in Australia in 1606. But due to financial problems, it wasn't completed until 27 November 1973. The total cost of building it was AUD $15.5 million (USD $71.4 million).
Of this amount, $9 million was provided by the government of Denmark. The other $6 million came from the Australian government. The opera house has been praised for its use of environmentally friendly materials - including glass, concrete, and metal - and its attention to energy efficiency. However, it has also been criticized for its expensive structure and lack of cultural significance for Australians.
The Sydney Opera House was completed ten years late and over budget by more than 1,300 percent. Despite this, the performing arts complex has become one of the world's most iconic landmarks, with over 10.9 million visitors per year. It was also listed as a World Heritage Site in 1997.
The Sydney Opera House was designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon and constructed by Australian builders. The original estimate for its construction was $2.4 million, but it ended up costing $15.5 million. In addition, materials and labor charges added another $1.7 million to the cost.
Its design is based on the idea that "a building's structure should be as invisible as possible", so most of its parts are actually made of glass, steel, or concrete. This means that it does not contain many interior walls or rooms; instead it has large open spaces. This makes the building very flexible and able to host different types of performances from opera to jazz concerts.
In order to pay for its construction, the Opera House belongs to an organization called the Sydney Opera House Trust. This group manages the house along with its associated facilities (such as shops and restaurants) and income from events held there.
If just project management success is considered, it may be viewed as a tremendous failure. In reality, the project was finished ten years late and 1,457 percent over budget (Sydney Opera House).
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous buildings in the world. It has been called "a work of art" and "the greatest architectural creation of its time." It was also a major economic driver for Australia during its construction. The opera house has had an enormous impact on both the cultural and social life of Sydney and Australia.
The design competition for the new opera house was held in 1959. British architect Sir John Soane's Museum with its dramatic dome was chosen by the jury to represent the best in modern architecture. But the money was not available to build anything like this, so the architects had to come up with another solution. The result was a building that they called "a shrine to music" because of all its beautiful details (such as carved wood and stained glass).
The foundation stone was laid down by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 January 1977. At the time, it was the largest masonry structure in the world by weight. It took more than 100,000 man-hours to construct the opera house. Its cost at that time was $55 million ($160 million in 2007).
Wednesday, October 17, 2013: According to a recent Deloitte analysis prepared for the Sydney Opera House's 40th anniversary, the Sydney Opera House is one of Australia's important assets, delivering $775 million to the Australian economy each year and having a cultural and iconic worth of $4.6 billion.
The Sydney Opera House has been called the most public private partnership in history. The Danish government provided 68% of construction costs with the remainder contributed by private individuals and businesses. It is estimated that these contributors put forward $140 million more than would have been spent if the project had not been funded privately.
It is also one of the most energy-efficient buildings on Earth. The Sydney Opera House requires less than 7m3 of water per square meter per day, which is less than other famous buildings such as the Louvre or Guggenheim Museum. The main reason is because it is not a building with a traditional water system such as a river or lake inside; instead it uses solar power and environmental conservation as its source of energy.
In 1996, the Sydney Opera House Foundation was formed as a separate legal entity to own and manage the Sydney Opera House and associated land. Its activities include fundraising for maintenance and restoration projects, administering grants from the Federal Government and State Governments, and producing educational materials about the building.
The structure did not float away. And not a single concert was canceled as a result of the $152 million hole dug beneath the Sydney Opera House. It is the greatest capital works project since the opening of the Sydney Opera House in 1973.
Anthony Roberts, director of conservation for Landscapes Australia, which performed the conservations on the site, said the structure was being held up by piles driven into the seabed to support it. "The whole thing is actually sitting on rock," he told ABC News. "It's not resting on sand like most buildings are supposed to do at high tide." The piles penetrate about 60 feet down into the mud before reaching solid ground.
He added that the shape of the site meant there were special challenges involved in repairing the damage caused by heavy equipment operating in an open-air environment.
"You can't see what you're doing so you need to be very careful not to hurt any of the structures around you," Roberts said.
The hull of the opera house is made of fiberglass resin sheets impregnated with large glass fibers. The underwater part is also made of fiberglass but using sheets coated with phenolic resin instead. Both materials are light and strong, but they get brittle when exposed to water over time.
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