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Australia Architecture

See The Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the 20th century's most famous and distinctive buildings. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the building was formally opened on 20 October 1973 after a gestation beginning with Utzon's 1957 selection as winner of an international design competition. The Government of New South Wales, led by the premier, Joseph Cahill, authorised work to begin in 1958 with Utzon directing construction.


The building and its surrounds occupy the whole of Bennelong Point on Sydney Harbour, between Sydney Cove and Farm Cove. The facility features a modern expressionist 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 precast concrete panels supported by precast concrete ribs, not shells in a strictly structural sense.

It is adjacent to the Sydney central business district and the Royal Botanic Gardens, and close by the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Though its name suggests a single venue, the building comprises multiple performance venues which together host well over 1,500 performances annually, attended by more than 1.2 million people. As one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, more than eight million people visit the site annually, and approximately 350,000 visitors take a tour of the building each year. It is managed by the Sydney Opera House Trust.





See The Sydney Tower

Sydney Tower is Sydney's tallest structure and the second tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere. The name Sydney Tower has become common in daily usage, however the tower has been known as the Sydney Tower Eye, AMP Tower, Westfield Centrepoint Tower, Centrepoint Tower or just Centrepoint. The Sydney Tower is a member of the World Federation of Great Towers. The tower stands 309 m (1,014 ft) above the Sydney central business district (CBD), located on Market Street, between Pitt and Castlereagh Streets.


It is accessible from the Pitt Street Mall, Market Street or Castlereagh Street and sits above the Westfield Sydney (formerly Centrepoint) shopping centre. The tower is open to the public, and is one of the most prominent tourist attractions in the city, being visible from a number of vantage points throughout town and from adjoining suburbs. Auckland's Sky Tower is taller but Sydney Tower's main observation deck is almost 50 m (164 ft) higher than the observation deck on Auckland's Sky Tower. While the shopping centre at the base of the tower is run by the Westfield Group, the tower itself is occupied by Trippas White Group, which owns and operates Sydney Tower Dining,[6] and Merlin Entertainments.

Four sections of the tower are open to public, three being occupied by Sydney Tower Dining. 360 Bar and Dining, which offers revolving views of the Sydney skyline, is located on level one of the Sydney Tower. Sydney Tower Buffet, a contemporary self-select restaurant, is on the tower's second level. STUDIO, located on level three, is the highest event space in the Southern Hemisphere, and can cater for cocktail functions for 200 people and 156 sit-down guests. The observation deck, currently called the Sydney Tower Eye, is located on level four of Sydney Tower.





See The Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district (CBD) and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic image of Sydney, and Australia itself. The bridge is nicknamed "The Coathanger" because of its arch-based design. The bridge's design was influenced by the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City. This bridge also has a long, rich, and fascinating history.


It is the sixth longest spanning-arch bridge in the world and the tallest steel arch bridge, measuring 134 m (440 ft) from top to water level. It was also the world's widest long-span bridge, at 48.8 m (160 ft) wide, until construction of the new Port Mann Bridge in Vancouver was completed in 2012. The southern end of the bridge is located at Dawes Point in The Rocks area, and the northern end at Milsons Point in the lower North Shore area. There are six original lanes of road traffic through the main roadway, plus an additional two lanes of road traffic on its eastern side, using lanes that were formerly tram tracks. This makes it one of the largest, most visited highways in Australia!

The arch is composed of two 28-panel arch trusses; their heights vary from 18 m (59 ft) at the centre of the arch to 57 m (187 ft) at the ends next to the pylons. The arch has a span of 504 m (1,654 ft) and its summit is 134 m (440 ft) above mean sea level; expansion of the steel structure on hot days can increase the height of the arch by 18 cm (7.1 in). The total weight of the steelwork of the bridge, including the arch and approach spans, is 52,800 tonnes (52,000 long tons; 58,200 short tons), with the arch itself weighing 39,000 tonnes (38,000 long tons).