Infosys – Pune

On approach to the Infosys campus, the buildings that steal a glance and demands for several glances are the software development blocks.

The two elliptical shaped buildings standing high in the premise, leading one to a completely different world. Another signature design by Architect Hafeez Contractor for the software development blocks – 3 & 5.the concept derived for designing this building have been inspired by germinating seeds, which meant to epitomize the idea of evolution. Tapering columns that support the structure at the ground level along with usage of other modern day materials like metal framework, metal purlins, double-glazing and most importantly Kalzip. The extensive glazing with its clearness allows one to move through the interior spaces revealing its vantage points that illustrate the dynamic interiors of the building. The double height entrance lobby has glass elevators that enhance the experience of transparent atriums offering expansive vistas of the outdoors. The office spaces of the 1^st and 2^nd floor overlooks the clear glass entrance plaza. The remaining three floors take the shape of the structure, diminishing towards the top.

Between the two elliptical SDB lies the food court. This food court was designed to cater 1500 people at a time. The site for the food court was an undulating one due to which the design concept thought over by Mr. Contractor was to move with the flow in stepped form. The main point that arouses interest is that this building is not air-conditioned but has special air cooling system. The glazed walls are sliding in nature. The food court, though is an informal building but it has been designed with firm rectilinear lines, with vibrant pastel shades for the interiors.

The Progeon buildings are the BPO buildings located opposite to the food court and SDB 3 & 5. The outlines of the buildings have crisp rectilinear lines, unlike the SDB buildings. Externally, the simplistic geometry oriented is incredibly powerful expression of technologically advanced facility. Based on the requirements provided by Mr. Pei, Infosys, of which the most important ones were:

a. Ease of construction in short time duration and,

b. One should be able to move through the building, through the central corridor, provided on either side of the core.

Another demand in the list of requirement was for the food court for staff, which has been designed at the topmost level with 800 seating space and self-sufficient kitchen. As one side of the core has been transformed into food court with room height of 7 mts., the other side of the core remains the corporate zone. The floor plate being 60,000 sq. ft.for Progeon allots 80 sq. ft. to every staff.

Last but not the least is the ECC building i.e. Employee Care Centre. Having been provided with a narrow patch of land, the rectilinear mass stands out with circular bands provided at intervals to break the monotony of the structure. This building is one of the tallest one in the premise.

The design of this building was done keeping in mind the three major activities like training, recreation and accommodation.

The building has a central double height entrance lobby with a glass canopy. The entrance lobby divides the floor having facilities like swimming pool, gymnasium, Indoor badminton court, squash court serves as a place breakout after extensive training on one side where as on the other side is the office area, training hall and lecture hall, auditorium, conference room, foyer - as a breakout area in between the conference room and lecture hall.

A mini super market was designed within the building keeping in mind the general and daily needs of the occupants.

Finally, for the accommodation facility, the upper level of the building has been planned with single and double occupancy rooms for women and gents and suites for special guests and families. There are 1000 rooms in total. The accommodation facilities have been designed on the upper levels to provide the occupants a soothing view of the surrounding areas and to allow them to enjoy the pleasant climate of the place.

Thus, all four different types of buildings are very different in design from one another, and each of them stands defining its functions through its unique aesthetics.

Optical Illusion of Parthenon, Athens.

Many optical illusions are found in architecture and, strangely enough, many of these were recognized long before painting developed beyond its primitive stages. The architecture of classic Greece displays a highly developed knowledge of many geometrical optical illusions and the architects of those far-off centuries carefully worked out details for counteracting them. Drawings reveal many optical illusions to the architect, but many are not predicted by them. The ever-changing relations of lines and forms in architecture as we vary our viewpoint introduce many optical illusions which may appear and disappear. Any view of a group of buildings or of the components of a single building will exhibit some optical illusions. We never see in the reality the same relations of lines, forms, colors, and brightness as indicated by the drawings or blue-prints. Perhaps this is one of the best reasons for justifying the construction of expensive models of our more pretentious structures.

No detailed account of the many architectural optical illusions will be attempted, for it is easy for the reader to see many of the possibilities suggested by preceding chapters. However, a few will be touched upon to reveal the magnitude of the illusory effect and to aid the observer in looking for or recognizing them, or purely for historical interest. In architecture the eye cannot be wholly satisfied by such tools as the level, the square, and the plumb-line. The eye is satisfied only when the appearance is satisfactory. For the purpose of showing the extent of certain architectural optical illusions, the compensatory measures applied by the Greeks are excellent examples. These also reveal the remarkable application of science to architecture as compared with the scanty application in painting of the same period.

During the best period of Grecian art many refinements were applied in order to correct optical illusions. It would be interesting to know to what extent the magnitude of the optical illusions as they appeared to many persons were actually studied. The Parthenon of Athens affords an excellent example of the magnitude of the corrections which the designer thought necessary in order to satisfy the eye. The long lines of the architrave - the beam which surmounts the columns or extends from column to column - would appear to sag if it were actually straight. This is also true of the stylobate, or substructure of a colonnade, and of pediments and other features. These lines were often convex instead of being straight as the eye desires to see them.

In the Parthenon, the stylobate has an upward curvature of more than four inches on the sides of the edifice and of more than two and a half inches on the east and west fronts. Vertical features were made to incline inward in order to correct the common appearance of leaning outward at the top. In the Parthenon, the axes of the columns are not vertical, but they are inclined inward nearly three inches. They are said also to be inclined toward each other to such a degree that they would meet at an altitude of one mile above the ground. The eleven-foot frieze and architrave is inclined inward about one and one-half inches.

In Fig. 85, a represents the front of a temple as it should appear; b represents its appearance (exaggerated) if it were actually built like a without compensations for optical illusions; crepresents it as built and showing the physical corrections (exaggerated) in order that it may appear to the eye as a does.

Tall columns if they are actually straight are likely to appear somewhat shrunken in the middle; therefore they are sometimes made slightly swollen in order to appear straight. This outward curvature of the profile is termed an entasis and in the Parthenon column, which is thirty-four feet in height, amounted to about three-fourths of an inch. In some early Grecian works, it is said that this correction was overdone but that its omission entirely is quite unsatisfactory. Some authorities appear to believe that an excellent compromise is found in the Parthenon columns.

One of the conditions which is responsible for certain optical illusions and has been compensated for on occasions is represented in Fig. 86. On the left are a series of squares of equal size placed in a vertical row. If these are large so that they might represent stories in a building they will appear to decrease in size from the bottom upward, because of the decreasing projection at the eye.

Many optical illusions are found in architecture and, strangely enough, many of these were recognized long before painting developed beyond its primitive stages. The architecture of classic Greece displays a highly developed knowledge of many geometrical optical illusions and the architects of those far-off centuries carefully worked out details for counteracting them. Drawings reveal many optical illusions to the architect, but many are not predicted by them. The ever-changing relations of lines and forms in architecture as we vary our viewpoint introduce many optical illusions which may appear and disappear. Any view of a group of buildings or of the components of a single building will exhibit some optical illusions. We never see in the reality the same relations of lines, forms, colors, and brightnesses as indicated by the drawings or blue-prints. Perhaps this is one of the best reasons for justifying the construction of expensive models of our more pretentious structures.

No detailed account of the many architectural optical illusions will be attempted, for it is easy for the reader to see many of the possibilities suggested by preceding chapters. However, a few will be touched upon to reveal the magnitude of the illusory effect and to aid the observer in looking for or recognizing them, or purely for historical interest. In architecture the eye cannot be wholly satisfied by such tools as the level, the square, and the plumb-line. The eye is satisfied only when the appearance is satisfactory. For the purpose of showing the extent of certain architectural optical illusions, the compensatory measures applied by the Greeks are excellent examples. These also reveal the remarkable application of science to architecture as compared with the scanty application in painting of the same period.

During the best period of Grecian art many refinements were applied in order to correct optical illusions. It would be interesting to know to what extent the magnitude of the optical illusions as they appeared to many persons were actually studied. The Parthenon of Athens affords an excellent example of the magnitude of the corrections which the designer thought necessary in order to satisfy the eye. The long lines of the architrave - the beam which surmounts the columns or extends from column to column - would appear to sag if it were actually straight. This is also true of the stylobate, or substructure of a colonnade, and of pediments and other features. These lines were often convex instead of being straight as the eye desires to see them.

In the Parthenon, the stylobate has an upward curvature of more than four inches on the sides of the edifice and of more than two and a half inches on the east and west fronts. Vertical features were made to incline inward in order to correct the common appearance of leaning outward at the top. In the Parthenon, the axes of the columns are not vertical, but they are inclined inward nearly three inches. They are said also to be inclined toward each other to such a degree that they would meet at an altitude of one mile above the ground. The eleven-foot frieze and architrave is inclined inward about one and one-half inches.

In this fig.:

a. represents the front of a temple as it should appear; b represents its appearance (exaggerated) if it were actually built like a without compensations for optical illusions; c represents it as built and showing the physical corrections (exaggerated) in order that it may appear to the eye as a does.

Tall columns if they are actually straight are likely to appear somewhat shrunken in the middle; therefore they are sometimes made slightly swollen in order to appear straight. This outward curvature of the profile is termed an entasis and in the Parthenon column, which is thirty-four feet in height, amounted to about three-fourths of an inch. In some early Grecian works, it is said that this correction was overdone but that its omission entirely is quite unsatisfactory. Some authorities appear to believe that an excellent compromise is found in the Parthenon columns.

One of the conditions which is responsible for certain optical illusions and has been compensated for on occasions. On the left are a series of squares of equal size placed in a vertical row. If these are large so that they might represent stories in a building they will appear to decrease in size from the bottom upward, because of the decreasing projection at the eye.

This is obvious if the eye is considered to be at the point where the inclined lines meet. In order to compensate for the variation in visual angle, there must be a series of rectangles increasing considerably in height toward the top. The correction is shown in the illustration.

It is stated that an inscription on an ancient temple was written in letters arranged vertically, and in order to make them appear of equal size they were actually increased in size toward the top. Obviously a given correction would be correct only for one distance in a given plane.

Villa Savoye .

It is considered to be one of the seminal works of Swiss architect Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, popularly known as Le Corbusier. Situated at Poissy, outside of Paris, it is one of the most recognizable architectural presentations of the International Style. Construction was substantially completed in 1929.

The Villa Savoye was designed as a weekend country house and is situated just outside of the city of Poissy in a meadow which was originally surrounded by trees. The polychromatic interior contrasts with the primarily white exterior. Vertical circulation is facilitated by ramps as well as stairs. The house fell into ruin during World War II but has since been restored and is open for viewing.

Conceptual Sketches

Le Corbusier’s ideas emphasized a set of standardized solutions, best described in his 'Five Points of a Modern Architecture; which some say he likened to the five classical orders are as follows :

1. The Supports

To solve a problem scientifically means in the first place to distinguish between its elements. Hence in the case of a building a distinction can immediately be made between the supporting and the non- supporting elements. The earlier foundations, on which the building rested without a mathematical check, are replaced by individual foundations and the walls by individual supports. Both supports and support foundations that are precisely calculated according to the burdens they are called upon to carry. These supports are spaced out at specific, equal intervals, with no thought for the interior arrangement of the building. They rise directly from the floor to 3, 4, 6, etc. meters and elevate the ground floor. The rooms are thereby removed from the dampness of the soil; they have light and air; the building plot is left to the garden, which consequently passes under the house. The same area is also gained on the flat roof.

2. The Roof Garden

The flat roof demands in the first place systematic utilization for domestic purposes: roof terrace, roof garden. On the other hand, the reinforced concrete demands protection against changing temperatures. Over activity on the part of the reinforced concrete is prevented by the maintenance of a constant humidity on the roof concrete. The roof terrace satisfies both demands (a rain- dampened layer of sand covered with concrete slabs with lawns in the interstices; the earth of the flowerbeds in direct contact with the layer of sand). In this way the rainwater will flow off extremely slowly. Waste pipes in the interior of the building. Thus a latent humidity will remain continually on the roof skin. The roof gardens will display highly luxuriant vegetation. Shrubs and even small trees up to 3 or 4 meters tall can be planted. For Le Corbusier, Roof Gardens were a way to reclaim the spaces lost in built-up areas of the cities.

3. Free design of the ground floor plan

The support system carries the intermediate ceilings and rises up to the roof. The interior walls may be placed wherever required, each floor being entirely independent of the rest. There are no longer any supporting walls but only membranes of any thickness required. The result of this is absolute freedom in designing the ground- plan; that is to say, free utilization of the available means, which makes it easy to offset the rather high cost of reinforced concrete construction.

4. Horizontal window, also known as the Ribbon window

Together with the intermediate ceilings the supports form rectangular openings in the façade through which light and air enter copiously. The window extends from support to support and thus becomes a horizontal window. Stilted vertical windows consequently disappear, as do unpleasant mullions. In this way, rooms are equably lit from wall to wall. Experiments have shown that a room thus lit has an eight times stronger illumination than the same room lit by vertical windows with the same window area. The whole history of architecture revolves exclusively around the wall apertures. Through use of the horizontal window reinforced concrete suddenly provides the possibility of maximum illumination.

5. Free design of the façade

By projecting the floor beyond the supporting pillars, like a balcony all round the building, the whole facade is extended beyond the supporting construction. It thereby loses its supportive quality and the windows may be extended to any length at will, without any direct relationship to the interior division. A window may just as well be 10 meters long for a dwelling house as 200 meters for a palatial building (our design for the League of Nations building in Geneva). The facade may thus be designed freely.

The Villa Savoy culminates Corbusier's early work. Villa Savoy is located in Poissy, France just outside of Paris. This house illustrates Corbusier's 'Five Points of Modern Architecture'. Unlike the confined urban locations of most of Le Corbusier's earlier houses, the openness of the Poissy site permitted a freestanding building and the full realization of his five-point program. Essentially the house comprises two contrasting, sharply defined, yet interpenetrating external aspects. The dominant element is the square single-storied box, a pure, sleek, geometric envelope lifted buoyantly above slender pilotis, its taut skin slit for narrow ribbon windows that run unbroken from corner to corner (but not over them, thus preserving the integrity of the sides of the square). The inner spaces flow dynamically around the supporting pilotis and blend with the exterior. The intersecting spatial areas are defined by flat white planes particularly at the diagonals. The house has an effect of a box hovering in the air, what with the whole structure being supported by slender steel columns called pilotis. The nonstructural walls merely define the space and keep out the weather. Large curving walls shelter the terrace and garden on the roof.

Howrah Bridge ( Rabindra Setu ) : A Gateway to the ‘city of joy’.

Kolkata was declared the capitol of India by the British and so still 1911. The railway station at Howrah set up in the year 1906 and the bridge (later popularly known as Howrah Bridge) thus served as the logistic link with the country’s one of the oldest passed the Howrah Bridge Act, in the year 1871, under the Bengal Act IX of 1871.

Sir Bradford Leslie's famous floating Pontoon Bridge, the earlier avatar of the modern Howrah Bridge, was initially set up in 1874, almost coinciding with the establishment of the port of Calcutta in 1870. For the convenient plying of passenger and vehicular traffic, the pool was connected as a whole. However, this was unfastened everyday, particularly during the night for safe passage of steamers, boats and other marine vehicles. From 19th August, 1879, the bridge was illuminated by fixing electric poles at the centre. This was done by using the electricity rendered from the dynamo at the Mallick Ghat Pumping Station. The Bridge was then 1528 ft. long and 62 ft. wide. On both sides were pavements 7 ft. wide for the sake of pedestrians. The 48 ft. road in between, was for plying of traffic.

The emergence of Kolkata as the political capital of the nation and expanding volume of merchandise routed through the port of Kolkata had a synergistic effect on the commercial importance of the bridge. The location of the initial pontoon bridge, was around 100 yards down-stream of the present Howrah Bridge (renamed as Rabindra Setu in the year 1965) after Rabindranath Tagore, the philosopher - bard and one of the most important nineteenth century renaissance personalities to leave a lasting impression on modern India.

Rabindra Setu is a suspension type balanced cantilever bridge with central span1500 ft. between centers of main towers. The Anchor arms are 325ft. and the Cantilever arms are 468 ft. long at both ends. While the middle suspended span is 564 ft., main towers are 280 ft. high above the monoliths and 76 ft. apart at the top Bridge deck width is 71 ft. with two footpaths of 15 ft. on either side.

All members of the super structure comprise built-up reverted sections with a combination of high tensile and mild steel. Between towers, bridge deck hangs from panel points in the lower chord of the main trusses with a series of hangers (39 pairs). Roadway beyond the towers is supported on ground leaving anchor arm free from deck loads. Bridge deck comprises 71 ft. carriageway and 15 ft. footway, projecting either side of the trusses and braced by longitudinal fascia girder.

Construction of the New Howrah Bridge was started on 1937. The Cantilever Era was prevailing at that time, and engineer’s felts that cantilever bridges were more rigid than suspension bridges. This bridge is one of the finest cantilever bridges in the world - left to India by the British engineers.

Considering various aspects like navigational, hydraulics, tidal conditions of the river and the projected traffic conditions, Rendell Palmer & Tritton came up with a design for a cantilever bridge of 1500 feet, with a 71 feet wide roadway and two 15 feet wide cantilever footways. Considering the quotation from various firms, the contract was awarded to Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Co. Ltd of Darlington, with a strong recommendation that they use Indian-made steel, which they agreed to do. Out of the total 26,500 tons of steel used, Tata Iron and Steel Company supplied 23,500 tons of steel and fabrication was done by Braithwaite, Burn and Jessop Co. at four different shops in Calcutta.

The two huge caissons which were sunk (on the first stage of construction) is still the biggest ever sunk caisson on land. It is told that while clearing the muck, all kinds of curious things was brought up, which included anchors, grappling irons, cannons, cannon balls, brass vessels, variety of coins. 40 Indian crane drivers were trained on the job and worked in three shifts of 8 hours each. The jobs of sinking the caisson were carried out round-the-clock at a rate of a foot or more per day.

One night, while grabbing out the muck to enable the caisson to move, the ground below it yielded and the entire mass plunged down two feet, shaking the ground. The impact of this shake was so intense that the seismograph at Khidirpore had registered as earthquake and a Hindu temple on the shore was destroyed; which was subsequently rebuilt. In spite of these challenging situations the caissons were placed true to position.

To keep the water out at depth of 103 feet (31 m) around the foundations so that construction can be done, around 500 people were employed on the compressed air operation. The air pressure maintained was about 40 lbs per square inch (2.8 bars). The work on the foundation was completed on November 1938. By the end of 1940 the erection of the cantilever arms was commenced and was completed in mid-summer of 1941. The two halves of the suspended span, each 282 feet (86 m) long and weighing 2,000 tons were built in December 1941. 16 hydraulic jacks, each of 800 ton capacity were pressed in to service for joining the two halves of the suspended span.

After completing the steel work of the deck and concreting of roadway. The Howrah Bridge was finally opened to traffic on February 1943. The old Floating Pontoon Bridge was decommissioned. In May 1946, census of the daily traffic on the bridge was taken and it was found to be 27,400 vehicles, 121,100 pedestrians and 2,997 cattle. The rate of only vehicle traffic over the bridge was 20% more than that on the London Bridge, in the same period, which was till then the busiest bridge in the metropolis.

The eight-lane bridge carries a steady flow of more than lakh vehicles and 2 million commuters every day. The best way to enjoy its stately beauty is to view it from the middle of the river where photography is strictly prohibited. The ferries running from below Howrah Station are a more convenient way to cross the river and give a good view of the bridge.

Sydney Opera House : A multi – venue performing arts centre.

“ There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world – a symbol for not only a city, but a whole country and continent. ”

In the pantheon of classic modern buildings, Utzon's creation has the status of myth. The myth states that the unknown Utzon, then in his 30s, submitted rough sketches - back-of-the-envelope stuff - to the competition judges, that he ignored most of the rules, that his design was only selected after being plucked at the last moment from the reject pile by one of the judges, architect Eero Saarinen, and that - the clincher, this - the design was un build able.

The Sydney Opera House can be said to have had its beginning during the late 1940s in the endeavors of Eugene Goossens, the Director of the NSW State Conservatorium of Music at the time, who lobbied to have a suitable venue for large theatrical productions built. At the time, the normal venue for such productions was the Sydney Town Hall, but this venue was simply not large enough. By 1954, Goossens succeeded in gaining the support of NSW Premier Joseph Cahill, who called for designs for a dedicated opera house.

Stage I was started on December 5, 1958, and work commenced on the podium on May 5, 1959 by the firm of Civil & Civic. The government had pushed for work to begin so early because they were afraid funding, or public opinion, might turn against them. However major structural issues still plagued the design (most notably the sails, which were still parabolic at the time).

Stage II, the shells were originally designed as a series of parabolas, however engineers Ove Arup and partners had not been able to find an acceptable solution to constructing them. In mid 1961 Utzon handed the engineers his solution to the problem, the shells all being created as ribs from a sphere of the same radius. This not only satisfied the engineers, and cut down the project time drastically from what it could have been (it also allowed the roof tiles to be prefabricated in sheets on the ground, instead of being stuck on individually in mid-air), but also created the wonderful shapes so instantly recognizable today. Arup and partners supervised the construction of the shells, estimating on April 6, 1962 that it would be completed between August 1964 and March 1965. By the end of 1965, the estimated finish for stage II was July 1967.

Stage III, the interiors, started with Utzon moving his entire office to Sydney in February 1963. However, there was a change of government in 1965, and the new Askin government declared that the project was now under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Works. In October 1965, Utzon gave the Minister for Public Works, Davis Hughes, a schedule setting out the completion dates of parts of his work for stage III. Significantly, Hughes withheld permission for the construction of plywood prototypes for the interiors (Utzon was at this time working closely with Ralph Symonds, an inventive and progressive manufacturer of plywood, based in Sydney). This eventually forced Utzon to leave the project on February 28, 1966. He said that Hughes' refusal to pay Utzon any fees and the lack of collaboration caused his resignation, and later famously described the situation as "Malice in Blunderland". In March 1966, Hughes offered him a reduced role as 'design architect', under a panel of executive architects, without any supervisory powers over the House's construction but Utzon rejected this.

The Sydney Opera House also embodies timeless popular metaphors. The building’s organic shape and lack of surface decoration have made it both timeless and ageless. Moreover, it demonstrates how buildings can add to environmental experience rather than detract from it - something of spiritual value independent of function.

The building and the setting look orchestrated, and the synergy between the setting and the building make it appear that the scheme actually involved flooding the harbour valley to set the building off to best advantage.

Despite so much richness, the building has had virtually no influence on the shape and form of Australian buildings which followed. It remains something of an enigma which crowns the silent collapse of Western Classical architecture from being the one language for great public buildings.

John Utzon’s historic resignation causes a furore and divided the Sydney architecture profession. There were rallies and marches to Sydney Town Hall led by architects such as Peter Killar and Harry Seidler; other architects resigned their profession and became teachers, chefs, film makers and artists in protest, and the Victorian Chapter of the RAIA (but not NSW) black banned the replacement of Uzton by an Australian architect.

However, as with Governor Macquarie, Greenway, Light, Barnet and Griffin before him, Utzon’s vision had exceeded the norm. The immense difficulties of achievement were seen as a waste and the importance of controlling the state’s expenditure won the day. On 19 April 1966, the new architectural team (Lionel Todd, David Littlemore, and Peter Hall) was appointed in a whirlpool of debate.

“ The Opera House could become the world's foremost contemporary masterpiece if Utzon is given his head. ”

Significant changes to Utzon's design

The Opera House seen from the north

• The major hall, which was originally to be a multipurpose opera/concert hall, became solely a concert hall, called the Concert Hall. The minor hall, originally for stage productions only, had the added function of opera and ballet to deal with and is called the Opera Theatre. As a result, the Opera Theatre is inadequate to stage large-scale opera and ballet. A theatre, a cinema and a library were also added. These were later changed to two live drama theatres and a smaller theatre "in the round". These now comprise the Drama Theatre, the Playhouse, and the Studio, respectively. These changes were primarily because of inadequacies in the original competition brief, which did not make it adequately clear how the Opera House was to be used. The layout of the interiors was changed, and the stage machinery, already designed and fitted inside the major hall, was pulled out and largely thrown away.
• Externally, the cladding to the podium and the paving (the podium was originally not to be clad down to the water, but to be left open).
• The construction of the glass walls (Utzon was planning to use a system of prefabricated plywood mullions, but a different system was designed to deal with the glass).
• Utzon's plywood corridor designs, and his acoustic and seating designs for the interior of both major halls, were scrapped completely. His design for the Concert Hall was rejected as it only seated 2000, which was considered insufficient. Utzon employed the acoustic consultant Lothar Cremer, and his designs for the major halls were later modelled and found to be very good. The subsequent Todd, Hall and Littlemore versions of both major halls have some problems with acoustics, particularly for the performing musicians. The orchestra pit in the Opera Theatre is cramped and dangerous to musicians' hearing. The Concert Hall has a very high roof, leading to a lack of early reflections onstage—perspex rings (the "acoustic clouds") hanging over the stage were added shortly before opening in an (unsuccessful) attempt to address this problem.

Utzon left the project on 28 February 1966. He said that Hughes's refusal to pay Utzon any fees and the lack of collaboration caused his resignation and later famously described the situation as "Malice in Blunderland". In March 1966, Hughes offered him a subordinate role as "design architect" under a panel of executive architects, without any supervisory powers over the House's construction, but Utzon rejected this.

Beginning in the late 1990s, the Sydney Opera House trust began to communicate with John Utzon in an attempt to effect reconciliation and to secure his involvement in future changes to the building. In 1999, he was appointed by the Trust as a design consultant for future work. In 2004, the first interior space rebuilt to an Utzon design was opened, and renamed "The Utzon Room" in his honor. In April 2007, he proposed a major reconstruction of the Opera Theatre. Utzon died on 29 November 2008.

In 1993, Constantine Koukias was commissioned by the Sydney Opera House Trust in association with REM Theatre to compose Icon, a large-scale music theatre piece for the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Opera House.