Sydney Opera House
The facility features a modern design, with a series of large precast concrete Shells each composed of sections of a sphere of 75.2 metres (246 ft 8.6 in) radius, forming the roofs of the structure, set on a monumental podium. The
building covers 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres) of land and is 183 m (600 ft)
long and 120 m (394 ft) wide at its widest point. It is supported on 588
concrete piers sunk as much as 25 m (82 ft) below sea level.
Although the roof structures are commonly referred to as "shells" (as in this article), they are concrete panels supported by precast concrete ribs, not shells in a strictly structural sense.
Though the shells appear uniformly white from a distance, they actually
feature a subtle chevron pattern composed of 1,056,006 tiles in two
colours: glossy white as well as matte cream. The tiles were
manufactured by the Swedish company ''Hoganas AB'' which generally produced stoneware tiles for the paper-mill industry.
Apart from the tile of the shells and the glass curtain walls of the
foyer spaces, the building's exterior is largely clad with aggregate
panels composed of pink granite quarried at Tarana . Significant interior surface treatments also include off-form concrete, Australian white birch plywood supplied from Wauchope in northern New South Wales, and Brush box Glulam.
Of the two larger spaces, the Concert Hall is in the western group of
shells, the Joan Sutherland Theatre in the eastern group. The scale of
the shells was chosen to reflect the internal height requirements, with
low entrance spaces, rising over the seating areas up to the high stage
towers. The smaller venues (the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse and the
Studio) are within the podium, beneath the Concert Hall. A smaller group
of shells set to the western side of the Monumental Steps houses the
Bennelong Restaurant. The podium is surrounded by substantial open
public spaces, and the large stone-paved forecourt area with the
adjacent monumental steps is regularly used as a performance space.
Concert Hall: With 2,679 seats, the home of the ''Sydney symphony orchestra'' and used by a large number of other concert presenters. It contains the Opera House Grand Organ, the largest mechanical tracker action organ in the world, with over 10,000 pipes.
Joan Sutherland Theatre: A magnificant theatre with 1,507 seats, the Sydney home of Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet. Until 16 October 2012 it was known as the Opera Theatre
Drama Theatre: A proscenium theatre with 544 seats, used by the Sydney Theatre Company and other dance and theatrical presenters
Playhouse: An end stage theatre with 398 seats.
Studio: A flexible space with a maximum capacity of 400, depending on configuration.
Utzon Room: A small multi-purpose venue, seating up to 210.
Recording Studio
Outdoor Forecourt: A flexible open-air venue with a wide
range of configuration options, including the possibility of utilising
the Monumental Steps as audience seating, used for a range of community
events and major outdoor performances. The Forecourt will be closed to
visitors and performances in 2011–2014 to construct a new entrance
tunnel to a rebuilt loading dock for the Joan Sutherland Theatre.
Other areas (for example the northern and western foyers) are also
used for performances on an occasional basis. Venues are also used for
conferences, ceremonies and social functions.
Other facilities
The building also houses a recording studio, cafes, restaurants, bars
and retail outlets. Guided tours are available, including a frequent
tour of the front-of-house spaces, and a daily backstage tour that takes
visitors backstage to see areas normally reserved for performers and
crew members.
