How the Sydney Opera House changed the world of architecture

The iconic performance venue was the first major building project to use computer analytics.
By Teodosia Dobriyanova  on 
A split-screen shows a B&A photographs of the Sydney Opera House' during its buildng (left) juxtaposed with an aearial shot of the Opera House now. The Sydney Harbour bridge emerges in the background. Caption reads: "Building the house."
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Mashable's short documentaries feature compelling individuals, innovations, and movements from around the world.


If you know one story about how the Sydney Opera House was built, the odds are that it's the one featuring Danish architect Jørn Utzon's brilliant design that, almost impossible to build, stirred some serious architectural drama.

50 years after the completion of one Australia's most famous landmarks, we look at a different story. One of invention, technological experimentation, and human ingenuity that changed the world of architecture.

In this Mashable Original, we speak to Arup deputy chair Tristram Carfrae and Luciano Cardellicchio, senior lecturer in Architectural Construction at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) about the legacy of the Sydney Opera House, built on the point of Tubowgule, the name of the land as known by its Traditional Custodians, the Gadigal, of the Eora nation.

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Teodosia Dobriyanova
Video Producer

Teodosia is a video producer at Mashable UK, focussing on stories about climate resilience, urban development, and social good.


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