Sydney Architecture - a selection of urban photographs...

After my last post of photos, I promised the next collection would be images of Sydney.

When I was a student, I had to evaluate a few of Sydney's most famous buildings and I thought that I had loads of pics I could choose from. As it turns out, I had cut up a lot of these pictures, as seen in the above banner! The collection is therefore only a small one, and as the images have been scanned from old photographic prints (these date before Digital cameras), there is quite a bit of dust on them.

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Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, who in 2003 received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour. The Opera House was formally opened by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on 20 October 1973.

The project was built in three stages - starting with the podium on 5th December 1958 - making the Opera House a 14 year build. In 1966, Utzon was forced to resign leaving the last stage of the project (the Interior) in the hands of Peter Hall, and in my opinion his absence during this stage is noticable! I must not have been alone for in the late 1990s, the Sydney Opera House Trust began to communicate with Utzon in an attempt to effect a reconciliation, and they succeeded. In 2004, the first interior space rebuilt to an Utzon design was opened, and renamed "The Utzon Room". In April 2007, he proposed a major reconstruction of the Opera Theatre. Utzon died on 29 November 2008.

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Queen Victoria Building
Architect George McRae designed the QVB in a Romanesque style to employ a great number of skilled craftsmen who were out of work due to a severe recession. The building was completed in 1898 and named the Queen Victoria Building after the monarch. In 1959, it was threatened with demolition due to steady deterioration, but was saved and restored by Ipoh Ltd at a cost of $86 million over the course of 3 years. Today the QVB is a popular shopping spot in the heart of the business district. This year, Ipoh began a $26 million refurbishment "to keep pace with other commercial buildings in the 21st century". Changes include glass signage, glazed balustrades, new escalators, and new colour schemes. These changes have been described by critics as "kitsch and threatening the heritage values of the historic building." I personally haven't been to the QVB this year, and I'm not sure I want to now!

"The dominant feature is the central dome, consisting of an interior glass dome and a copper-sheathed exterior, topped by a domed cupola." This photo shows the exterior of the dome.

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Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre
The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre was officially opened in 1988 (to celebrate Australia's 1988 Bicentenary), with a new section of the centre added for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre is the largest and most technically advanced convention centre in Australia. Both exhibition and convention centre spaces can be configured to suit any type of usage in this fully integrated facility, and its all under the one roof.

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Centrepoint Tower
Sydney Tower (also known as the AMP Tower, AMP Centrepoint Tower, Centrepoint Tower or just Centrepoint) is Sydney's tallest free-standing structure, standing 305 m (1,001 ft) above the Sydney CBD (Central Business District). Tower construction began in 1975, and was opened to the public in September 1981. The total cost of construction was AUD$36 million.

After aqisition by AMP, the tower was renamed "AMP Tower" and during the 2000 Sydney Olympics the tower was given a "face-lift" which included an AMP light sign and illuminated Olympic figures, a sight that a lot of locals labelled "vulgar"! After the Westfield Group took over ownership of Centrepoint in December 2001, the name was changed to Sydney Tower... but not before AMP exploited the famous tourist location for their own advertisment!!

"Sydney Tower is a towering testimonial to the work of architect Donald Crone whose vision it was to create this landmark "needle" in the sky." - About.com

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Sources:
1. Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia. Visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/
2. Pods - Forum, Conference, Expo. Visit: http://www.npods.net/VENUE/SydneyExhibitionCentre/tabid/219/Default.aspx
3. Sydney Morning Herald.
4. About.com - Australia/New Zealand Travel. Visit: http://goaustralia.about.com/cs/sydneysightscity1/a/sydneytower1.htm
5. Cox Architects. Visit: http://www.cox.com.au