Joern Utzon, the Danish architect most known for designing the Sydney Opera House (Australia) passed away on Saturday November 29, 2008. He died from a heart attack in his sleep in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Since Thursday, Utzon had not been doing well undergoing a series of operations. Sydney Opera House architect, Joern Utzon, dies at 90. He drew up the design for the Sydney opera house in 1957.
He quit this project in 1966 — 7 years before this internationally acclaimed building was finished due to scandals about cost blowouts and design arguments. As a result Government appointed architects took over and the interior was not completed to Joern Utzon’s original design plan.
In 2003, this Danish Architect was finally awarded the prestigious Pritzker award (architecture’s highest honor). The jury singled out the Sydney Opera House as one of the most iconic buildings of the 20th Century, arguing it “proves that the marvelous and seemingly impossible in architecture can be achieved”.
The Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, paid a tribute to the “visionary” architect today.
“Joern Utzon was a visionary architect whose legacy includes one of the world’s most spectacular and inspiring buildings, the Sydney Opera House,” Mr Rudd said in a statement.
“Standing proudly on the edge of Sydney Harbour, the Opera House is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of our nation.”
A Tour of the Sydney Opera House
httpv://in.youtube.com/watch?v=IrhGG2feqp8
Utzon also designed the National Assembly building in Kuwait City. He along with his sons, Kim and Jan, designed several projects in partnership, including a church in Bagsvaerd, a Copenhagen suburb, which opened in 1976, and a furniture and design showroom, known as Paustian, in the Copenhagen harbor that was completed in 1983.
Utzon won several awards for his work, including the Order of Australia in 1985 and the Sonning Prize for contributing to European culture in 1988.
Utzon is survived by his wife and their three children, Kim, Jan and Lin, and several grandchildren. Funeral plans were not immediately announced.
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