Jørn Oberg Utzon (; 9 April 191829 November 2008) was a Danish architect. In 1957, he won an international design competition for his design of the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Utzon's revised design, which he completed in 1961, was the basis for the landmark, although it was not completed until 1973.
When the Sydney Opera House was declared a World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007, Utzon became only the second person to have received such recognition for one of his works during his lifetime, after Oscar Niemeyer. Other noteworthy works include Bagsværd Church near Copenhagen and the National Assembly Building in Kuwait. He also made important contributions to housing design, especially with his Kingo Houses near Helsingør.
Utzon attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (1937–42) and was influenced early on by Gunnar Asplund and Alvar Aalto.
Early life and career Utzon was born in Copenhagen, the son of a naval architect, and grew up in Aalborg, Denmark, where he became interested in ships and a possible naval career. As a result of his family's interest in art, from 1937 he attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts where he studied under Kay Fisker and Steen Eiler Rasmussen. Following his graduation in 1942, he joined Gunnar Asplund in Stockholm where he worked together with Arne Jacobsen and Poul Henningsen.Kasper Krogh, "Jørn Utzon – visionens mester", Berlingste Tidende, 29 November 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2011. He took a particular interest in the works of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.Tobias Faber "Jørn Utzon", Kunstindekx Danmark & Weilbachskunstnerleksikon. Retrieved 18 September 2011. After the end of World War II and the German Occupation of Denmark, he returned to Copenhagen.
In 1946 he visited Alvar Aalto in Helsinki. In 1947–48 he travelled in Europe, in 1948 he went to Morocco where he was taken by the tall clay buildings. In 1949, he travelled to the United States and Mexico, where the pyramids provided further inspiration. Fascinated by the way the Mayans built towards the sky to get closer to God, he commented that his time in Mexico was "One of the greatest architectural experiences in my life."
In America, he visited Frank Lloyd Wright's home, Taliesin West, in the Arizona desertJorn Utzon from Telegraph, 30 November 2008. and met Charles and Ray Eames."Jørn Utzon (1918–2008)", Danishnet.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011. In 1950 he established his own studio in Copenhagen and, in 1952, built an open-plan house for himself, the first of its kind in Denmark. In 1957, he travelled first to China (where he was particularly interested in the Chinese desire for harmony), Japan (where he learnt much about the interaction between interiors and exteriors) and India, before arriving in Australia in 1957 where he stayed until 1966. All this contributed to Utzon's understanding of factors which contribute to successful architectural design.
Architectural approach
Utzon had a Nordic sense of concern for nature which, in his design, emphasized the synthesis of form, material and function for social values. His fascination with the architectural legacies of the ancient Mayas, the Islamic world, China, and Japan also informed his practice.Adrian Carter, "Between Earth and Sky: The work of Jørn Utzon, as an exemplary phenomenological approach to modern architecture made concrete." Retrieved 25 September 2011. This developed into what Utzon later referred to as Additive Architecture, comparing his approach to the growth patterns of nature.Richard Weston on Additive Architecture, Jorn Utzon, Logbook Vol V , Edition Bløndal. Retrieved 25 September 2011. A design can grow like a tree, he explained: "If it grows naturally, the architecture will look after itself.""Jørn Utzon: Danish architect who designed the Sydney Opera House", The Times, 1 December 2008.
Sydney Opera House
In 1957, Utzon unexpectedly won the competition to design the Sydney Opera House. His submission was one of 233 designs from 32 countries, many of them from the most famous architects of the time. Although he had won six other architectural competitions previously, the Opera House was his first non-domestic project. One of the judges, Eero Saarinen, described it as "genius" and declared he could not endorse any other choice.
The designs Utzon submitted were little more than preliminary drawings. Emory Kemp's consulting career began at Ove Arup, where, he conducted analytical calculations for the roof, noting this was no simple task, as Utzon's sketches were designed to embellish the beauty of the international landmark, not necessarily for simple mathematics. Concerned that delays would lead to lack of public support, the Cahill Government of New South Wales nonetheless gave the go-ahead for work to begin in 1958. The British engineering consultancy Ove Arup & Partners put out tenders without adequate working drawings and construction work began on 2 March 1959. As a result, the podium columns were not strong enough to support the roof and had to be rebuilt. The situation was complicated by Cahill's death in October 1959."Utzon, Jorn, 1918–2008: Jorn Utzon Sydney Opera House collection, 1956–1967" , State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
The extraordinary structure of the shells themselves represented a puzzle for the engineers. This was not resolved until 1961, when Utzon himself finally came up with the solution. He replaced the original elliptical shells with a design based on complex sections of a sphere. Utzon says his design was inspired by the simple act of peeling an orange: the 14 shells of the building, if combined, would form a perfect sphere.
Although Utzon had spectacular, innovative plans for the interior of these halls, he was unable to realise this part of his design. In mid-1965, the New South Wales Liberal government of Robert Askin was elected. Askin had been a 'vocal critic of the project prior to gaining office.'Farrelly, Elizabeth, "High noon at Bennelong Point" , Canberra Times. Retrieved 21 September 2011. His new Minister for Public Works, Davis Hughes, was even less sympathetic. Elizabeth Farrelly, Australian architecture critic has written that
Utzon soon found himself in conflict with the new Minister. Attempting to rein in the escalating cost of the project, Hughes began questioning Utzon's capability, his designs, schedules and cost estimates, refusing to pay running costs. In 1966, after a final request from Utzon that plywood manufacturer Ralph Symonds should be one of the suppliers for the roof structure was refused, he resigned from the job, closed his Sydney office and vowed never to return to Australia. When Utzon left, the shells were almost complete, and costs amounted to only $22.9 million. Following major changes to the original plans for the interiors, costs finally rose to $103 million.
The Opera House was finally completed in 1973 and Elizabeth II attended its opening. Utzon was invited to the opening ceremony by the Premier and while pleased by the invitation, he declined commenting "I cannot be a guest of the Government of New South Wales and at the same time criticize one of its ministers". He was, however, to be recognised later when he was asked to design updates to the interior of the opera house. The Utzon Room, overlooking Sydney Harbour, was officially dedicated in October 2004. In a statement at the time Utzon wrote: "The fact that I'm mentioned in such a marvellous way, it gives me the greatest pleasure and satisfaction. I don't think you can give me more joy as the architect. It supersedes any medal of any kind that I could get and have got." Furthermore, Frank Gehry, one of the Pritzker Prize judges, commented: "Utzon made a building well ahead of its time, far ahead of available technology, and he persevered through extraordinarily malicious publicity and negative criticism to build a building that changed the image of an entire country."Christopher Hawthorne, "Jorn Utzon dies at 90; Danish architect of Sydney Opera House", Los Angeles Times, 30 November 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
Works in Denmark
While some of Utzon's most notable works are spread around the globe, he was most prolific in his native Denmark, whose landscape inspired him more than any other. Bagsværd Church, just north of Copenhagen, is considered to be a masterpiece of contemporary church architecture, thanks to its bright, naturally illuminated interior and its concrete ceiling straddled with softly-rounded vaulting inspired by clouds."Bagsværd Kirke (1976)" , Dansk Arkitektur Center. Retrieved 15 September 2011. Designed in 1968, the church was completed in 1976. In the church there is a grand piano by Steingraeber designed by Utzon.Michael Asgaard Andersen, "Revisiting Utzon's Bagsværd Church", Nordisk Arkitekturforskning. 2005: 2, p. 95 et seq. Retrieved 16 September 2011. The Kingo Houses in Helsingør (1958) consist of 63 L-shaped homes based on the design of traditional Danish farmhouses with central courtyards.Møller, Henrik Sten and Udsen, Vibe: Jørn Utzon Houses, Living Architecture Publishing, Copenhagen, Built in rows following the undulations of the site, each of the houses not only has a view of its own but enjoys the best possible conditions for sunlight and shelter from the wind. Utzon described the arrangement as "flowers on the branch of a cherry tree, each turning towards the sun.""Jørn Utzon, 2003 laureate, Biography" , PritzkerPrize.com. Retrieved 17 September 2011. In general, Utzon's houses display sophisticated and varied relationships to the path of the sun.
A few years later, he went on to design the Fredensborg Houses (1963) for Danish pensioners who had worked for long periods abroad. Utzon helped select the site, and planned a complex consisting of 47 courtyard homes and 30 terraced houses as well as a central building with a restaurant, meeting rooms and nine guest rooms. His design was inspired by housing in Beijing's Forbidden City. The homes are located around a square in groups of three, designed to maximize privacy, natural lighting, and views of the surrounding countryside."Utzons Fredensborghuse" , Danes Worldwide. Retrieved 18 September 2011. When he was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 2003, Utzon was specifically lauded for his working designing housing projects that, the jury said, were "designed with people in mind."
His Paustian Furniture Store (1988) on Copenhagen's waterfront stands on a multitude of columns inspired by a beech forest."Kocept: Arcsite Kanon", Dansk Architektur Center. Retrieved 18 September 2011. A temple-like finish is achieved by 11 columns with fan-shaped capitals overlooking the harbour. Similar columns are also present inside the spacious interior, stretching up to the skylight dominating the roof.Kim Dirkinck-Holmfeld, "Dansk Arkitektur 1960–1995", Arkitektens Forlag, Copenhagen 1995, p. 326.
In 2005, in close collaboration with his son Kim Utzon, he helped to plan the Utzon Center in Aalborg (completed 2008) designed to inspire young students of architecture. Located on the waterfront, its high sculptured roofs rise over an auditorium, a boathall and a library while the lower roofs of its exhibition rooms and workshops surround a central courtyard, sheltered from the wind."Utzon Center", Kim Utzon Arkitekter. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
Other works
Kuwait's National Assembly Building, completed in 1982, stands on the sea front with (in Utzon's words) "haze and white light and an untidy town behind." Benefiting from an understanding of Islamic architecture, Utzon designed a building consisting of a covered square, a parliamentary chamber, a conference hall, and a mosque. Its waving roof conveys the impression of moving fabric."Kuwait National Assembly, 1972–82, by Jorn Utzon, 2003 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate" . About.com. Retrieved 18 September 2011. Its columns are reminiscent of the Karnak temples.