Page 42 - Culture Mag

TWO ICONS
The Sydney Opera House was completed in 1973, taking 14 years and 10 thousand construction workers to build, with a final total cost of $102 million. Its sister landmark, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, was finished in 1932. The Sydney Opera House has become a symbol of the land down under and has a special history and unique features.
Located on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbor, the opera house was completed in 1973 after 16 years of construction. It was designed by a Danish architect named Jørn Utzon. He won a contest where his design beat out other plans from architects all over the world! The opera house was built on a large slab of granite. Its large points were covered in white tiles and many believe they look like sails from a boat or large shells. In fact, they are often referred to as shells. The Sydney Opera House shells created by white tiles have become a symbol of Australia. Building the large shells was an engineering challenge and it was a very expensive building to create. In fact, it became so expensive that
many Australians protested its construction!
However, most people were satisfied with the beauty of the building once it was
completed. And now, it's hard to imagine Australia
without the famous opera house! You may think only
opera is performed inside the famous white shells, but
there is so much more that happens inside the Sydney
Opera House! Musicals with ballet dancing are regularly performed.