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While we talk about how "authentic" our plans for Toronto City Hall and Nathan Phillip Square are to Viljo Revell's original vision, it's interesting to note that in Australia, people are questioning about how authentic the new improvements to the Sydney Opera House will be, even though they are being designed by the original architect, Joern Utzon, who is losing his eyesight.
The Australian
Link to article
Will failing vision impair Opera House improvements?
* Joern Utzon is losing his eyesight. So how authentic is the work being carried out in his name, wonders Philip Drew
* March 20, 2007
IN June 1965, Danish architect Joern Utzon approached photographer Josef Vissel to do a portrait recording his arms moving through the profile of the glass walls of the Sydney Opera House.
Required was an expensive specialised camera that Vissel did not possess, so he improvised. First he covered Utzon's face with a black velvet hood and made 16 exposures of the architect's hands; then, taking the hood off, he photographed Utzon's side-lit face.
The precision with which Utzon's hands describe the wall profile while blindfolded is proof of his quite exceptional spatial memory.
An architect, however, cannot practise in the dark: his art is a spatial one that depends on the ability to make and read drawings and models. Without sight, he loses the primary means of expressing architectural ideas.
Utzon is suffering from a degenerative eye condition and the gradual loss of his vision is a tragedy for architecture.
The architect, who has never seen his Sydney Opera House completed, was re-engaged by the NSW Government in 2002 to design a series of improvements to the venue.
But his impaired vision raises questions about his ability to carry out that work.
I learned of Utzon's failing eyesight in December 2005. Earlier this year his eldest son, Jan, confirmed in an email that Joern Utzon was suffering from age-related macular degeneration of the wet type.
The extent to which this has affected Utzon's ability to communicate his thoughts and read documents, including drawings, isnot known beyond the fact his vision isfragmented.
"He can easily walk around, recognise people, enjoy nature, etc," Jan Utzon wrote in the email. "He cannot see television, or read without a great effort and with a magnifying glass. Otherwise his spirit is as happy and energetic as always."
Wet AMD impairs the central vision, which recognises detail and is critical to activities such as reading and drawing. Often accompanying the distortion and loss of vision is a decrease in sensitivity to contrast and a loss of colour perception.
An analogy may be a composer who loses his hearing. But Beethoven, for example, was still able to compose from his mental conception of music and he did not lose his ability to write.
Even if Utzon retains a solid mental image of his creation, his ability to draw and read drawings, however, is impaired. He will be relying on his remaining peripheral vision and use a large magnifying glass.
Sketching architectural proposals will become problematic and reading drawings, except the most basic sketches, will be a trial.
Architecture depends on making fine judgments of space and form, scale, colour and texture.
Even with assistance, Utzon's ability to make such fine judgments inevitably will be impaired, along with his capacity to convey his thoughts in drawings.
The improvements to the Sydney Opera House have been made in Utzon's name. They include the renovation of the Utzon Room as a reception and recital hall, and construction of the western loggia.
The aesthetic failure of the western loggia is made worse by the installation of Cafe West, which obstructs views of Sydney Harbour from the ticket lobby.
Work has started on the new $38 million western foyer, to include escalators to the Concert Hall and Opera Theatre.
Opera House management is considering plans to remodel the Opera Theatre, a project that could cost $700 million.
The scheme is said to involve dropping the floor of the auditorium to enlarge the orchestra pit and decorating the interior to Utzon's design.
The message coming from the Sydney Opera House is that Utzon is in charge of all the important design changes and that his scheme for the Opera Theatre is brilliant.
But detailed information about the project - its cost, extent and construction schedule - has not been made public. The architect in charge of the project, Richard Johnson at Johnson Pilton Walker, and Jan Utzon, who is assisting, have said little.
What possible reason could there be not to make public the new Opera Theatre plans when their exhibition would create a groundswell of support for the much needed changes?
Utzon's visual impairment is a further complication. It is uncertain how his disability will affect his future participation and what role he will play in the upgrade program for the interiors.
How much work can Johnson and Jan Utzon do for the elder architect - standing in as his eyes - without entirely undermining the claim that the design changes are a reflection of Joern Utzon's decisions andprocesses?
Many questions remain, even as the Opera House is being put forward later this year for consideration by UNESCO for World Heritage listing. Until now Utzon's involvement in, and supervision of, the physical changes has been a certificate of authenticity.
Further insights about Utzon have come to light in a recent biography of British engineer Ove Arup, who also worked on the Opera House. The biography, Ove Arup: Master Builder of the Twentieth Century by Edinburgh philosopher Peter Jones, raises questions about Utzon's technical competence and maturity. Jones writes: "Utzon could see no way out of the design problems from quite an early stage, was immaturely deaf to advice and desperate to escape."
The Sydney Opera House was no ordinary job: to Arup it was to be the climactic proof of what architect and engineer could achieve through collaboration.
Utzon's abrupt departure devastated Arup, professionally and personally. Arup tried to convince him to rejoin the project but was repeatedly rebuffed.
Utzon will be 89 in April. He faces a severe test as he battles failing eyesight. It is remarkable he has lived long enough to be invited back to his beloved Opera House.
The question remains how he can ensure the work carried out under his name is authentic and consistent with his original creative vision. How well will the present upgrade serve the building? Will it further dilute its strengths? So much hangs in the balance in this, Australia's only truly great internationally recognised monument.
Architecture historian Philip Drew has written a biography of Joern Utzon.
The Australian
Link to article
Will failing vision impair Opera House improvements?
* Joern Utzon is losing his eyesight. So how authentic is the work being carried out in his name, wonders Philip Drew
* March 20, 2007
IN June 1965, Danish architect Joern Utzon approached photographer Josef Vissel to do a portrait recording his arms moving through the profile of the glass walls of the Sydney Opera House.
Required was an expensive specialised camera that Vissel did not possess, so he improvised. First he covered Utzon's face with a black velvet hood and made 16 exposures of the architect's hands; then, taking the hood off, he photographed Utzon's side-lit face.
The precision with which Utzon's hands describe the wall profile while blindfolded is proof of his quite exceptional spatial memory.
An architect, however, cannot practise in the dark: his art is a spatial one that depends on the ability to make and read drawings and models. Without sight, he loses the primary means of expressing architectural ideas.
Utzon is suffering from a degenerative eye condition and the gradual loss of his vision is a tragedy for architecture.
The architect, who has never seen his Sydney Opera House completed, was re-engaged by the NSW Government in 2002 to design a series of improvements to the venue.
But his impaired vision raises questions about his ability to carry out that work.
I learned of Utzon's failing eyesight in December 2005. Earlier this year his eldest son, Jan, confirmed in an email that Joern Utzon was suffering from age-related macular degeneration of the wet type.
The extent to which this has affected Utzon's ability to communicate his thoughts and read documents, including drawings, isnot known beyond the fact his vision isfragmented.
"He can easily walk around, recognise people, enjoy nature, etc," Jan Utzon wrote in the email. "He cannot see television, or read without a great effort and with a magnifying glass. Otherwise his spirit is as happy and energetic as always."
Wet AMD impairs the central vision, which recognises detail and is critical to activities such as reading and drawing. Often accompanying the distortion and loss of vision is a decrease in sensitivity to contrast and a loss of colour perception.
An analogy may be a composer who loses his hearing. But Beethoven, for example, was still able to compose from his mental conception of music and he did not lose his ability to write.
Even if Utzon retains a solid mental image of his creation, his ability to draw and read drawings, however, is impaired. He will be relying on his remaining peripheral vision and use a large magnifying glass.
Sketching architectural proposals will become problematic and reading drawings, except the most basic sketches, will be a trial.
Architecture depends on making fine judgments of space and form, scale, colour and texture.
Even with assistance, Utzon's ability to make such fine judgments inevitably will be impaired, along with his capacity to convey his thoughts in drawings.
The improvements to the Sydney Opera House have been made in Utzon's name. They include the renovation of the Utzon Room as a reception and recital hall, and construction of the western loggia.
The aesthetic failure of the western loggia is made worse by the installation of Cafe West, which obstructs views of Sydney Harbour from the ticket lobby.
Work has started on the new $38 million western foyer, to include escalators to the Concert Hall and Opera Theatre.
Opera House management is considering plans to remodel the Opera Theatre, a project that could cost $700 million.
The scheme is said to involve dropping the floor of the auditorium to enlarge the orchestra pit and decorating the interior to Utzon's design.
The message coming from the Sydney Opera House is that Utzon is in charge of all the important design changes and that his scheme for the Opera Theatre is brilliant.
But detailed information about the project - its cost, extent and construction schedule - has not been made public. The architect in charge of the project, Richard Johnson at Johnson Pilton Walker, and Jan Utzon, who is assisting, have said little.
What possible reason could there be not to make public the new Opera Theatre plans when their exhibition would create a groundswell of support for the much needed changes?
Utzon's visual impairment is a further complication. It is uncertain how his disability will affect his future participation and what role he will play in the upgrade program for the interiors.
How much work can Johnson and Jan Utzon do for the elder architect - standing in as his eyes - without entirely undermining the claim that the design changes are a reflection of Joern Utzon's decisions andprocesses?
Many questions remain, even as the Opera House is being put forward later this year for consideration by UNESCO for World Heritage listing. Until now Utzon's involvement in, and supervision of, the physical changes has been a certificate of authenticity.
Further insights about Utzon have come to light in a recent biography of British engineer Ove Arup, who also worked on the Opera House. The biography, Ove Arup: Master Builder of the Twentieth Century by Edinburgh philosopher Peter Jones, raises questions about Utzon's technical competence and maturity. Jones writes: "Utzon could see no way out of the design problems from quite an early stage, was immaturely deaf to advice and desperate to escape."
The Sydney Opera House was no ordinary job: to Arup it was to be the climactic proof of what architect and engineer could achieve through collaboration.
Utzon's abrupt departure devastated Arup, professionally and personally. Arup tried to convince him to rejoin the project but was repeatedly rebuffed.
Utzon will be 89 in April. He faces a severe test as he battles failing eyesight. It is remarkable he has lived long enough to be invited back to his beloved Opera House.
The question remains how he can ensure the work carried out under his name is authentic and consistent with his original creative vision. How well will the present upgrade serve the building? Will it further dilute its strengths? So much hangs in the balance in this, Australia's only truly great internationally recognised monument.
Architecture historian Philip Drew has written a biography of Joern Utzon.