Sydney Opera House celebrates sustainability legacy

The Sydney Opera House has released a YouTube video celebrating its sustainable design, as originally envisioned by architect Jørn Utzon.

The video reveals that Utzon’s design was inspired by the nature of Sydney Harbour, as well as the belief that architecture should grow out of the landscape and resemble a single organism. Furthermore, Utzon chose to make the building durable enough to last for 250 years, rather than 50-80 years.

The building’s seawater air-conditioning system was particularly innovative for its time, saving more than 600 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of potable water a year compared with using a cooling tower. The Opera House additionally adopted a philosophy of not using a lot of cladding material on it; as a result, a lot of use of concrete has been used as an exposed element.

“At the Sydney Opera House, we believe that to realise an ongoing contribution to our culture, economy and community, we must live responsibly within our environment,” said Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron AM.

“Everything we do will engage and inspire people. And I strongly believe that should be just as true of our sustainability program as of the performances we present.”

The YouTube video can be viewed below.