Already the recipient of several awards, the Sydney Opera House has just been accorded two more – one by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) as well as an engineering heritage international marker from Engineers Australia.

ASCE’s Historic Civil Engineering Landmark Program recognises significant local, national, and international civil engineering projects, structures and sites. Previous recipients include Brooklyn Bridge, Eiffel Tower, Panama Canal and Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme.

While the architectural aspects of the Sydney Opera House have long been acknowledged and admired, these are its first major engineering awards. Architect Jørn Utzon’s novel design was inspired by sailboats and swans and there were questions about whether it was even possible to build a structure in the shape of the Sydney Opera House using prestressed concrete.

“To an engineer it’s a marvel of ambition, of audacity,” said President of Engineers Australia Sydney Division Don Moloney CPEng, who represented the organisation at the recognition ceremony. “In essence, designing and building this masterpiece required multi-disciplinary dedication, expertise, skill, ingenuity and fortitude by engineers, architects, surveyors and builders alike.

“The Opera House pushed these disciplines to the limit, to achieve something truly unique, the process having profound engineering and scientific significance, influencing structural design for ever more,” he added.

Built in the sixties, the Sydney Opera House holds the honour of being the  first computer-designed building of significant scale and was led by the groundbreaking work of former Arup Chair Dr John Nutt.  When the Opera House was being built, Frank Johnson MIEAust was a budding student engineer and recalls using slide rules and log tables in his engineering course. He is now the Chair of Engineering Heritage Australia and tells create that the Sydney Opera House could not have been built with the tools engineers were using at the time.

Nutt pioneered the use of computers in engineering practice, worked on the design and analysis of the Sydney Opera House roof and oversaw the construction and completion of the building.

In Building a Masterpiece: The Sydney Opera House , Nutt explained the problem. “The shells converged to points at the supports, concentrating the forces in an undesirable way,” he wrote. 

“The ridges had sharp discontinuities of surface. Curvatures near the pedestals caused enormous problems which were not resolved until late in the design. Each shell had to be linked to its neighbour to achieve overall stability.”

The Sydney Opera House involved the earliest example in the world of epoxy jointing of matched concrete segments. It also used an erection arch for construction of the roofs that was the most complex piece of scaffolding used in the construction industry in Australia at that time. The project also pioneered the factory manufacture and erection of large precast concrete units of complex geometry. 

Nutt called it “a magnificent tribute to the collaboration of architect and engineer, to art and technology.”

Johnson is keen to see the next generation learn from, and be inspired by, the incredible engineering that went into the Sydney Opera House. He highlights the Build Creative Lab organised by Western Sydney University which enables 40 students to explore the architecture, engineering and design of the Sydney Opera House in an immersive experience. 

“Michael Elfick, John Kuner and Wilf Deck are some of the engineers who worked with Ove Arup, the project’s design engineer over 50 years ago, and will participate in the Build,” said Johnson.

Engineers Australia’s Engineering Heritage Recognition Program has recognised over 260 engineering and industrial heritage sites around Australia. Works that have significance beyond Australia, are recognised as being Engineering Heritage International Markers, and the Sydney Opera House joins other internationally significant works in that category, such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

It is only fitting that the building that pioneered the use of computers in its design be given the first ever digital plaques – one each from ASCE and Engineers Australia. Moreover, a metal plaque would not meet the Opera House Trust’s conservation management plan. And, as Moloney noted, “the House has enough nails in the wall”.

Kevin Gomez is an editor who has worked in a number of technology-related publications and websites in several countries. When he’s not devouring or producing content, he spends time supporting organisations that help bring science to a broader audience.

Thanks for a great report. You rightly include builders in the accolades, but do not give them their own paragraph. The Sail Builders, Hornibrook, negotiated shapes and systems to achieve a practical and economical outcome. One of their ideas was that many of the sails had to be shaped from the same spherical surface to achieve repetitive use of formwork. The sail profile needed to change to fit this concept; the architect and engineer needed to seriously consider that constructability was of major concern. Many modern projects have a single team involving architect, engineer, builder, financier.

It is pleasing that the Sydney Opera House continues to be recognized, particularly its engineering achievements. The Create article by Kevin Gomez April 7, 2022 states that incredible engineering went into the Sydney Opera House, this is absolutely correct, however, whilst the article recognizes a number of contributors to the building of the Sydney Opera House, the article is remiss in not recognizing the engineering achievements of Joe Bertony and the wider Hornibrook construction team to solve the problem of how to construct the roof. The roll of the computer in the Opera House project was pioneering in that it was used, inter alia I am sure, to verify the multitude of complex hand written mathematical equations prepared by Joe Bertony. The effort of Joe Bertony and Hornibrook made the roof construction possible.

That’s an interesting comment, Peter. The key role played by builders was covered in great detail earlier and a link has been provided in this article.

Yes, Joe Bertony played a key role working through thousands of mathematical equations by hand. This was covered in great detail (along with the work of Hornibrook), in an earlier piece and a link has been provided in this article.

The design and construction of the Sydney Opera House remains a wonderful engineering and architectural achievement that truly changed Sydney as a world city. While not quite as profound, it is worth mentioning the work that was undertaken some years ago now to change the loading dock arrangements and separate visitor foot traffic from deliveries to the Opera House, ensuring increased safety for all. This required the construction of a new entrance for trucks and several additional floor levels under the existing structure. This involved the excavation of a massive cavern under the structure, supporting the structure on complex temporary foundations and then creating additional watertight levels below the structure, well below sea level, extending lift shafts down further, all while not affecting the existing functioning of the Opera House. This project, apart from some construction portables and a small compound on the forecourt of the complex, was undertaken hidden from the gaze of the general public and in itself was a magnificent engineering achievement which enhanced the functionality of Opera House and ensured its ongoing operation for many years to come.

Marvellous article about a wonderful achievement. About time it was recognised. The best successes are achieved when the entire team works as one. As an architect (now long retired), I have worked with similar teams and have experienced the feeling approaching euphoria when the different engineering consultants, architect, quantity surveyor, builder, client and major subcontractors came together and our building was the result. Anyone’s problem was everyone’s problem, as was the solution. Of course that was back in the 1970s when developers and project managers hadn’t yet taken over the process!

Great achievement, which was long time coming. As marvelous as the civil engineering was, equally impressive was the integration of HVAC and cooling systems to avoid massive cooling towers, noise, fresh water use, exposed pipes, massive ugly infrastructure. The engineers eliminated cooling towers altogether and made chillers more efficient by using seawater cooling systems. The entire system was neatly tucked away in the underground plant room. This made the Opera House more energy efficient with longer design life (cupro nickel tube heat exchangers to handle salt water), no fans and pumps. That was showcased in the American HVAC magazine in 1971-1972, which I had read [then I was working with Tata Consulting Engineers in Bombay, India].

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