In 1957 Jørn Utzon won the competition for the Sydney Opera House with a sketch of sails in the harbor. By 1959 construction started and by 1965 the government of New South Wales had had enough of the nearly incomprehensible cost overruns and lengthy delays that Jørn Utzon quit under tremendous pressure. Eight years later the building was finally finished with different architects designing the interiors (obvious if you are ever lucky to visit the building in person), and the building (unpopular during construction) became adopted and loved by the Australian people as an icon of their city and country.

Sydney Opera House
(1973) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Ignoring all of the cost overruns and the controversies, the Sydney Opera House was still impressive enough thirty years later to win Jørn Utzon a Pritzker Prize. Technically the jury said it was for a lifetime of work, but c'mon, there's the Sydney Opera House and, well, did I mention the Sydney Opera House yet?

Click here to go to the visit the Sydney Opera House's official site. They offer tours of the complex and a chance to buy tickets for the Opera Theatre, the even larger Concert Hall and the three small theatres on the lower level

Church in Bagsværd
(1976) Copenhagen, Denmark

As shocking as it is, Jørn Utzon designed more than an opera house on Bennelong Point. His well published Church in Bagsværd looks harmless enough from the outside, but once inside its curved ceiling makes you forget about all those boxes.

Slideshow | Sydney Opera House

See more of the Sydney Opera House (and fifteen more places) at the ArBITAT Places page... (go to places.ArBITAT.com)