Do you know that Jørn Utzon, the architect of the Sydney Opera House, came up with the design by cutting shapes out of a hemisphere?

That’s why it looks so organic. I'm sure this is also why people develop such a personal relationship with the building. I drove past it today on my way to the city and my instinct was to reach out and stroke it, like you would a cute animal.

This brass display panel (below) on the front steps of the building shows how the four cuts were made to form the roof shapes.

Up close the building's even better than from a distance. The 1,056,006 glazed granite roof tiles are a work of art in themselves.

Made from a unique material produced by a Swedish firm called Höganas, they are self-cleaning when it rains and the unusual mix of glossy and matt whites, coupled with the intricate patterning, means they catch the light in very unusual ways, ranging from shades of white to delicious salmony pink or lilac hues.

As for the interior, if you're ever in Sydney it's well worth taking the guided tour. The vaulted ceilings and ingenious use of space are very impressive. Nominated as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, it didn't make it into the top 7 that were announced on 07.07.07 but was among the 14 finalists. It's one of those buildings you just can't 'drink' enough of with your eyes, and it changes not just with every angle you look at it from but also with the time of day and seasons.

An intriguing fact about the Opera House is that when Jørn Utzon won the international competition to design it, he didn't at that time know how to build it. It took him a further 3 years to figure that bit out. Imagine the audacity of a world-class architect submitting plans for something he could conceive of but didn't actually know how to create. You gotta admire his vision and his gall.

Apparently it eventually took 13 years to build it instead of the 3 years he postulated it would, and cost 102 million Aussie dollars instead of the initial budget of AUD $7 million.

But what price can you put on a building that has created a heart not just for the city but for the whole Australian continent?

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