Dr Anne Watson - Peter Hall's conceptual conundrum
International Day of Monuments and Sites
•
19m
"What were we supposed to build?" Peter Hall's conceptual conundrum
Dr Anne Watson, Independent Researcher and curator
When Peter Hall (1931-1995) accepted the invitation to complete the Sydney Opera House after Jørn Utzon’s withdrawal in early 1966, he inherited a logjam of problems including the unresolved designs of the two main auditoria and the building’s enclosing glass walls. Evolving a conceptual approach that tied innovation to function, he drew on the precedent of the building itself, Utzon’s ideas and designs, his own creativity and the contribution of technical experts.
This presentation will focus on Hall’s innovative use of moulded plywood throughout the Opera House interiors, his selection of bold colour schemes reflecting the lively spirit of the times, the visionary commissioning of artworks, and his pioneering collaboration with internationally-renowned lighting specialists. His legacy today is a performing arts centre that is beloved by visitors and performers and that aesthetically, functionally and experientially pays homage to the building’s spectacular exterior.
Up Next in International Day of Monuments and Sites
-
Professor Helen Lochhead - Innovation...
Prof. Helen Lochhead, UNSW Sydney, SOH DAP
Professor Helen Lochhead is an architect, landscape and urban designer combining academic and expert advisory roles with practice. Her career has focused on the inception, planning, design, and delivery of complex urban projects ranging from city improv...
-
Professor Philip Goad - Innovation, m...
Competition in context: Innovation, modern architecture and the Sydney Opera House
Prof. Phillip Goad, University of Melbourne (UoM)
Jørn Utzon’s 1956 competition design for the Sydney Opera House and its development to 1962 has been widely and intensively studied. The design’s much vaunted Prom... -
Tristram Carfrae RDI - Delivering New...
SOH: Delivering new technologies
Tristram Carfare RDI
Arup
The design and construction of the Sydney Opera House is full of innovation. It was the first time that digital computers, then resident in university basements, were used in structural analysis, and later in the construction surveying.
...
