Beyond the Spherical Solution

By shedding light on the contribution of local ingenuity and craftsmanship in the making of one of the most celebrated buildings in the world, the research project details the complexity behind the fabrication of the iconic roof of the Sydney Opera House.

Based on a rich group of items recently discovered by the investigators, including site notes, new original site images, calculations and execution instructions of the temporary structure, and a massive corpus of 5,300 drawings issued by the Australian contractor, the research aims to illustrate, for the first time, the sophisticated combinatory solutions for attaining the structural form required whilst introducing repetition and flexibility in the making of the spherical roof of the Sydney Opera House.

Through the adoption of 3D simulations and the reconstruction of design and construction workflows, the research establishes a basis for the proper archival of the construction industry and project documentation in Australia and gauges the socio-technical evolution of the construction sector vis-à-vis the methods employed to procure buildings.

The Australian contribution in making the Sydney Opera House – The Casting Procedure