FOURTH INTERNATIONAL UTZON SYMPOSIUM – SYDNEY AUSTRALIA

WHAT WOULD UTZON DO NOW?

The Jorn Utzon Architectural Paradigm and the Emerging

World Design Experience
Author: Majdi Faleh
Architect, Fulbright scholar

Co-author: Dr.Caitlin De Brigny Wall

The University of Sydney, Sydney

Introduction shape our worlds, or would allow us to take the

lead, as designers, and shape a well defined and
The contemporary architectural main stream can progressive built environment for future cities and
be potentially improved to define a paradigmatic future genrations.
methodology of innovative and elaborate
architecture, at the intersection of transcultural
influences. Jorn Utzon’s architectural designs and
especially the Opera of Sydney have always Architectural influences in Utzon architectural
intrigued designers for their dynamic structures, work: a modern and acute strategy in a global
and transcultural aspects. The architectural world
sculpture seems to be compelling to the
international society around Sydney, using its The concept of transcultural architecture
international morphological style recalling the
shells and the sea culture. Our world is full of rich The notion of transculturation is a very potential
icons and images that people identify themselves way to drive architectural practices forward and to
with. In our globalized world; it is indeed very rethink the future of a contemporary and balanced
inspiring to be studying how Utzon connects his architectural model. Transculturation in
architecture with nature using his Nordic sense of architecture opens up a new area that challenges
the surroundings, and connecting his vision with conventional approaches of architecture that are
world architecture through understanding the contemporary and disconnected, or traditional and
diversity of our world sphere. Utzon emphasized stagnant, as imposed by colonial factors and
on the synthesis of form, material, and also social political stigmas. Architectural transculturation
function, thus his fascination and openness to reflects a constant search for an ideal coherence
world architecture emphasized and progressed his between combined architectural elements, social
architectural design process. In a broader context, contexts, and cultural influences. Instead of
the research would focus on the roots of eliminating such potential tools, it is very crucial to
understanding the built, political, cultural, social, think about how useful interpretation is in defining
and technological environments to investigate and new architectural realities.
understand the impact of cultures on shaping
architecture and our world, as well. Technology is The concept of transculturation offers the needed
a key factor of change, and an active component at tools that cities around the world would aspire to
the intersection of world civilizations and cultures have and to incorporate into their global design
that would potentially drive the creation of a deep expectations. This progressive notion offers new
and enrooted contemporary built environment. avenues for continuous formal exploration, where
Today we are at the intersection of world global architects are at the heart of the event, and where
experiences and realms that would either passively they are requested to balance between cultures.
Global capitalism is spreading in a fast way; where Architecture" stating: "Something of the
architects are called to act, reassess the naturalness found in the growth principle in nature
complexities of design, and to reinvest global ought to be a fundamental idea in works of
symbols into the dynamism of their work. A sense architecture."2
of place and belonging is to be established, and at
the same time, a progressive architecture would be Islamic architecture is evolutive and dynamic
created to respond to the dynamics of our cultures. thanks to the complex geometry that forms it. The
world design experience can be rich integrating
The contemporary work of Jorn Utzon reveals a such symbols as the arabesque. Spirals are
strong dedication to search for new prototypes that universal symbols that involve the addition of
define how dynamic and hybrid architecture can similar shapes, relating to the evolution of nature,
be. Utzon revealed a sense of liberation in his work life and its cycles. They embody the addying
reflecting his world travels that totally shaped his process of creation’s expansion and contraction
vision of what the transcultural dimension is about. and they are being widely used in islamic design
Jorn Utzon design principles integrated world and specifically in arabesque motifs.3 Jorn Utzon
design symbols, and revealed the extent to which additive and evolutive process would be very
architecture can be evolutionary. valuable in making Islamic more dynamic and
progressive. In a way, Islamic design is a reflection
Adding to architecture: Jorn Utzon additive of infinity, universality, and progression;
approach consequently sustainable. Imagine a cultural venue
in Dubai with a very complex structure, as in the
Utzon’s architecture is as evolutionary as nature is. Opera of Sydney, and where patterns are inspired
His works including the Opera of Sydney, and his from floral patterns and form part of the skin.
design for a sports complex in Jeddah recall the These elements are not just decorative but they
fact that architecture is as dynamic as nature is. add on to the building structure as they come out
The use of patterns (white tiles in the Opera of of the skin and roof. Freedom is synoym to
Sydney) reminds us how evolutionary and progression and reinvestment in that sense. A
progressive architecture can be. Freedom of spiritual experience takes place within the poetry of
architecture is what characterizes this approach architecture, creating an irresistible sense of
and what distinguishes it from other architectural haormony between the floral structured roof and
main stream of today. the context of Islamic design. Architecture is
additive, and evolution is at the core of progression
Mogens Prip-Buus, one of Utzon's closest conceived by man.
colleagues, reports that the term was coined in
1965 in Utzon's Sydney office when, after a An architectural vision relating to world sphere
discussion of the social structures in Britain and
Denmark, Utzon suddenly jumped up and wrote Utzon’s architecture is revelatory and
"Additive Architecture" on the wall. He saw it as straightforward, since it reveals a well understood
part of an additive world where both natural and style of architecture. The human touch is also
cultural forms contributed to additive systems and easily identifiable through his work. His
hierarchies. He realized that his own architecture architectural works reminds us of natural elements
reflected the same principle, just as the transitions including the shells and sea in the Sydney Opera
in primitive societies between family, village and House, and it strongly connects with the local
the surrounding world have visible links revealing architecture of where the project is located. The
differences, relations and distances.1 architecture of the place is what we need today for
our global cities. Moving beyond the iconic star
In our global and fast paced world, buildings architecture towards a more enrooted architecture
should be designed more openly rather than connected with its site, history, and climate is what
identical boxes. Utzon expressed the same ideas
in an essay titled "The Innermost Being of 2
Thomas Bo Jensen, "Review of Additive
Architecture", Edition Bløndal. Retrieved 25 September
1 Thomas Bo Jensen, "Om bogen Additive 2011.
Architecture", Forlaget Ehrhorn Hummerston, published
in Arkitekten, Vol 111, no. 14, November 2009. Retrieved 3
Daud Lutton, Islamic Design, a Genius for Geometry.
7 October 2011. First US edition 2007.
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL UTZON SYMPOSIUM – SYDNEY AUSTRALIA
WHAT WOULD UTZON DO NOW?

planners and architecture should be urging for

nowadays. A sense of place needs to be strongly
integrated in our contemporary architectural era.
This notion is also illustrated through the work of
Japanese Modernist architect, Tadao Ando, whose
work reveals a thoughtful research of form, light,
and geometry. Tadao’s work is an illustration of
timeless and minimalist interventions on
landscapes. By correlation, Jorn Utzon’s work is
also timeless as the visitor can sense a strong Fig. 1. SOH competition sketch, East Side, 1957
sense of the place and a strong presence within
the surrounding nature. In the Architect Magazine, How does culture shape our urban
it was mentioned that: “The marine-architect father, environments?
the designs for abstractly beautiful hybrid
monohull-trimarans, the debatable but irresistible The sociopolitical context is integrally related to
conflation of sails and hulls with the shells of the architecture, which means that architecture is a
opera house roof”4. Jorn Utzon world experience revelation of the surrounding culture. Cities are
fully engages the sailsmen, the visitors, and the often thought to be imposed by city planners and
innovators into a uniquely distinguished world decision makers in the way we see the millennium
experience, where architecture meets nature in an cities of today. Dubai is one example where
evolutionary way. architectural ambitions went far beyond the rational
and where dreams went far from reality. According
His elegant work reveals a universal grasp that he to some researchers Dubai is ‘perhaps the world’s
creates through the cultures he gets in touch with. fastest-growing global city and intercontinental hub’
Through his travels, Utzon was able to create a but it is also ‘a non-Arab society planted in the
very unique and clear design that reflects a heart of Arabia’ (Hirst, 2011). Normally, culture
universal attitude and a personal touch combined gives quality and value to the meaning of life and is
through façade, walls, and an overall open and a strong tool towards progressing societies and
clear architectural expression. Utzon invites the civil entities. In a way, culture has a strong
user or spectator to come in, and if you look at his connection with local cultures and habitat, which
buildings, there is nothing that you do not has been somehow overshadowed under our
understand […] looking at it [The Sydney Opera global world design patterns.
house] from a distance, it’s sculptural, but at hand,
there is nothing that you can’t understand. Looking back at Jorn Utzon Kuwait National
Everything has been put forward. Utzon’s Assembly project, we would certainly see an
architecture had a human aspect at its core. He eastern culture inspiration. Utzon was inspired by
was inspired by architecture without architects. the Bazaars of Isphahan, Iran, and the covered
Instead of just looking at what his colleagues structure of those very particular dome-covered
made, he searched and found some universal Islamic souks. As a result of his travels, Utzon had
architectural ideas. He was able to grasp a culture developed an affinity for Islamic architecture.
that wasn’t his own, and transform it into his own”.5

4 The Architect Magazine (AIA, USA), P.27, October 23,

2013 Edition.

5 CEO of the Danish museum Lousianna, Poul Erik

Tøjner: Text Rune U. Jørgensen.
 The Sydney opera house and the world
experience: how can designers and architects
rethink and reintegrate core principles of world
architecture?

Fig. 3. Sydney habour at night, a sculptural landmark

shaping the skyline
Fig. 2. The National Assembly of Kuwait building
designed first in 1972 by Jørn Utzon. It was later modified The Sydney Opera House recently became a
and completed under the leadership of his son Jan in
UNESCO world heritage site on June 28th, 2007.7
1984.
The work of Danish architect Jorn Utzon is
influenced by what we refer to as expressionist
In the definitive book by Richard Weston titled
architecture. Expressionism in architecture was a
simply, Utzon, the project is described as follows:
movement that grew up in Europe during the first
“The complex was conceived as an evolving fabric
part of the 20th century, in parallel to
with, initially, ragged edges but of uniform height
expressionism in the arts. This movement of
save for the representative spaces—the covered
architecture tends to be more gothic than classic,
square, parliamentary chamber, large conference
relating more to symbolism than to conceptual
hall and mosque—which would rise as visually
representation of the time. Through an artistic
dominant group. These four major elements
architectural piece, the architect reveals emotional
formed the corners of an incomplete but clearly
connections and feelings through forms, shapes,
implied rectangle, and the highest surfaces of their
and unique materials places in a way that makes
distinctive roofs—as specified in a three-
the building more of a sculpture or monolithic
dimensional sketch—were to lie in the same plane
design.8 In this movement, architects are also
to create a ‘firm strong grouping’ to ‘hold the rest of
being influenced by political and social situations
the complex (which in its nature is irregular as it
that surround them, and drive part of their inner
grows) together. Dominate it’ as Utzon explained in
creative side revealing landmarks that
a note next to the sketch. The mosque was flat-
commemorate an era of total challenge and
roofed and anchored one corner of this spatial
questioning.
core—it would later be angled slightly toward
Mecca—and its autonomy was stressed by making
it independent of the office grid. The other roofs
were sag curves, reflecting Utzons’s interest in
fabric as a metaphor for concrete—we may recall it
was shortly before this time that he had explored
the Bagsværd Church’s cloud-vaults with fabric
models.”6

7 Braithwaite, David (28 June 2007). "Opera House wins

top status". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28
June 2007.

8 Expressionism in Architecture, by Cesario

6 DwiYoniarto,http://architectureintlprogram.wordpress.com
www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/file_fields/field_fi /2011/03/30/expressionism-in-architecture/
les_inline/2003_bio.pdf
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL UTZON SYMPOSIUM – SYDNEY AUSTRALIA
WHAT WOULD UTZON DO NOW?

start building on top of it. A flat roof does not

express the flatness of the platform … in the
schemes for the Sydney Opera House … you can
see the roofs, curved forms, hanging higher or
lower over”.9

Fig. 4. Sydney Opera House, DIPNR - NSW Department

of Infrastructure Planning & Natural Resources

Architecture is an expression of its time, and also a

long lasting expression of what mankind would
leave as a trace on earth for future generations.
The national opera house is one of the “world”
examples of world architecture given the fact that
its architectural features and expression is long
lasting. The National Opera House erected on the
very strategic site of Bennelong Point celebrates
both culture and context in the city of Sydney.

The structure of the opera house is very unique as

it brings large precast concrete shells together.
This performance art centre of the world has
established its world character thanks to its
connection with its site, and to its global
expression. The cultural icon in Jorn’s work
strongly connects with the sense of departure and
openness that Sydney bay offers as an open gate
to the world. The Sydney Opera House shells ribs
structure is an expression of its time and of all
times, since nature is timeless, and what connects
with nature is also timeless. From a distance, the
roof structure appears as shells that are, in fact,
precast concrete panels supported by precast
concrete ribs. The white colour of the outside skin
speaks to the outside environment and reveals a
strong spiritual connection with nature.

The idea of the platform would manifest itself in

many of Utzon’s designs over the years, including
that of the Sydney Opera House, where he
described it as follows: “…the idea has been to let
the platform cut through like a knife and separate
primary and secondary functions completely. On
top of the platform the spectators receive the
completed work of art and beneath the platform
every preparation for it takes place”. Utzon
continued, “To express the platform and avoid
destroying it is a very important thing, when you
9
http://architecture.about.com/library/blsydneyopera.htm
Utzon cultural hybridization and transcultural connections are seen through his work of the opera of Sydney
where he got inspired from the Mayan temples during his trip to Mexico. This was a feature that Jorn Utzon
wanted to integrate gradually into modern architecture, as a strong expression of modernism. Jorn Utzon
combined both the Sydney headlands as well as the Mayan pyramids to create a strong and dynamic
architectural sculpture in the Middle of Sydney Harbour. This particular world design experience is very present
and culturally significant to building a world design experience that would reshape our habitat. It is certainly
fundamental to build and not only to construct, and by constructing we are referring to the massive
internationalization and copying of architectural icons and boxes. The world design experience of Jorn Utzon is
a revelation of how new hybrid modes of cultural connectivity embrace images and symbols that add on to the
architectural value in our planet. Cultural heritage is very present in all aspects of life, therefore the architectural
world experience of our global planet needs to gather these cultural values and to celebrate them through the
built environment.

Notes

1 Bo Jensen, Thomas. "Om bogen Additive Architecture", Forlaget Ehrhorn Hummerston, published in Arkitekten, Vol
111, no. 14, November 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2011.

2 Bo Jensen, Thomas. "Review of Additive Architecture", Edition Bløndal. Retrieved 25 September 2011.

3 CEO of the Danish museum Lousianna, Poul Erik Tøjner: Text Rune U. Jørgensen.

4 The Architect Magazine (AIA, USA), P.27, October 23, 2013 Edition.

5 Braithwaite, David (28 June 2007). "Opera House wins top status". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 June
2007.

6 Expressionism in Architecture, by Cesario Dwi Yoniarto,

http://architectureintlprogram.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/expressionism-in-architecture/

7 Pritzker Price of Architecture, http://www.pritzkerprize.com/sites/default/files/file_fields/field_files_inline/2003_bio.pdf

8 Expressionism in Architecture, by Cesario Dwi

Yoniarto,http://architectureintlprogram.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/expressionism-in-architecture/
9http://architecture.about.com/library/blsydneyopera.htm