An Appeal for Modernism: Sigfried Giedion and the Sydney Opera House

Goad, Philip

doi:10.1080/10331867.1997.10525113

Cited by 2 publications

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“…As Philip Goad has noted, the Opera House was the "lynchpin" on which Giedion built his case for the emergence of the "third generation" of modernists. 32 Giedion's new chapter was itself an expansion of an article of the same title published in Zodiac in 1965. 33 Not appearing in the 1965 article, but a significant addition in the Utzon chapter of the 1967 edition of Space, Time and Architecture, was an account of the issues surrounding Utzon's resignation, its "devastating" effect on the building and its implications for the autonomy of the architect/artist.…”

Section: Enter Peter Hallmentioning

confidence: 97%

Divided Loyalties: Peter Hall, Philip Parsons and the Dilemma of Utzon's Return

Watson¹

2012

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When Jørn Utzon resigned from the uncompleted Sydney Opera House project in February 1966, his successor Peter Hall was faced with innumerable and inevitably controversial design problems. But one of Hall's greatest dilemmas was not design-related. With Utzon signalling a wish to return to the job in early 1967, Hall found himself entangled in negotiations to pressure the government to reconcile with the original architect. Identified by the self-appointed conciliation strategist, Sydney academic Dr Philip Parsons, as the key intermediary by which negotiations succeeded or failed, Hall was torn between his professional regard for Utzon's claim to the building, doubts over Utzon's professed spirit of compromise and the contradictory advice of colleagues and government officials. Drawing on newly discovered documentation in Parsons' papers, this article explores the ambiguity of allegiances with which Hall was faced during 1967, Utzon's vacillating overtures and the well-intentioned dedication with which Parsons sought to affect a viable reconciliation. A little-known sequel to the muchpublished 1966 resignation story, the complex interweaving of Utzon's apparently changed attitude in 1967, Hall's divided loyalties and the government's continuing intransigence contribute new layers to the Opera House narrative.

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Section: Enter Peter Hallmentioning

confidence: 97%

Divided Loyalties: Peter Hall, Philip Parsons and the Dilemma of Utzon's Return

Watson¹

2012

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“…An almost violent, but highly effective and wonderful contrast to this calm, linear, natural coloured architecture is created by the Japanese manifesto, including two sections that indicated 'Chinese houses and temples', 'a traditional Japanese house', the scene of clouds and the oceanic horizon, and two curved roof forms in the air and a roof/ earthwork juxtaposition [3]. 5 Utzon's words in 'Platforms and Plateaus' gave further explanation of his perception of Chinese 'roof' and 'platform' and 'a delicate bridge-like platform' of the traditional Japanese house: Chinese houses and temples owe much of their feeling of firmness and security to the fact that they stand on a platform with the same outline as that of the roof or sometimes even of larger size, depending upon the importance of the building.…”

Section: Calligraphy Clouds and Naturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…20 Sirén argued that the sectional drawing was crucial for studying the architectonics of Chinese architecture in general and its roof forms in particular. Yoshida's drawing of a Japanese house was the most authentic precedent for Utzon's sketch of 'a traditional Japanese house' in 'Platforms and Plateaus' [3,20]. Both illustrations stressed 'a horizontal emphasis' of the Japanese house by indicating its raised wooden floor with large horizontal sliding doors and windows.…”

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“…With the two side walls shaping a narrow front and a long depth, the ground floor of the bank design presented a hierarchical spatial transition from inside to outside, and from the 'primary' domain in the front, to the 'secondary' zone in the back. With the suspended roof beams above and grand staircases below, the bank's ground floor directly recalled Utzon's sketch of people ascending and descending between a roof/earthwork juxtaposition that was intrinsic to his theme of 'Platforms and Plateaus' [28,3], as well as his sketches of people descending to the oceanic horizon 'inside' his Bagsvaerd Church [2]. surrounding brick screens in Hui Chu Ssu can be read as the precedent for Utzon's combination of stereotomic elements and their in-situ-assembly for his altar design.…”

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“…The concept of Chinese dualism and its exemplification in architectonic formation became one of the rationales behind Utzon's sketch of two twisted floating forms symbolising his design concept in 1962 'Platforms and Plateaus' [3]. Although Utzon seemed to never deliver a clear explanation for this sketch, by implication it was aligned with his representation of 'Chinese houses and temples', as a pair of distinct forms combined and contrasting with each other.…”

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Jørn Utzon's synthesis of Chinese and Japanese architecture in the design for Bagsværd Church

Chiu¹,

Goad²,

Myers³

et al. 2018

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In his essay of 1983, ‘Towards a Critical Regionalism’, Kenneth Frampton referred to the Bagsværd Church as a primary exemplar, briefly citing the architect's representation of ‘the Chinese pagoda roof’ in this project, to emphasise the importance of crosscultural inspiration in the creation of ‘critical regionalism’. Peter Myers followed Frampton in his 1993 ‘Une histoire inachevée’, arguing for the significant role that Chinese architecture played as a source for Utzon's Bagsværd Church design and further variations on the theme of Chinese and Japanese exemplars on Utzon's work follows. Françoise Fromonot established the importance of the 1925 edition of the Yingzao-fashi (State Building Standard, first published in 1103 ad) and Johannes Prip-Møller's 1937 Chinese Buddhist Monasteries for Utzon; Philip Drew pointed out the significance of the work of Chinese writer Lin Yutang (1895–1976) and historian Osvald Sirén (1879–1966) as important channels through which Utzon perceived East Asian art and architecture; while in 2002, Richard Weston suggested Das Japanische Wohnhaus (1935), written by Japanese architect Tetsuro Yoshida (1894–1956), as a formational influence in Utzon's early perception of Japanese building culture. However, none of these works attempt to clarify the precise role that Chinese and Japanese precedents play in Utzon's architectural career. Two more recent studies, by Philip Goad and Michael Asgaard Andersen, have confirmed the role of Chinese architecture in Utzon's church design and have introduced new evidence and details, but there are still unanswered questions about the exact nature of these influences. This article attempts to address the detailed process of Utzon's cross-cultural practices for his design of the Bagsværd Church in order to reveal how Utzon interpreted specific ideas, ideals, and artefacts from East Asian building culture.

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An Appeal for Modernism: Sigfried Giedion and the Sydney Opera House

Cited by 2 publications

References 2 publications

Divided Loyalties: Peter Hall, Philip Parsons and the Dilemma of Utzon's Return

Divided Loyalties: Peter Hall, Philip Parsons and the Dilemma of Utzon's Return

Jørn Utzon's synthesis of Chinese and Japanese architecture in the design for Bagsværd Church

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