Visceral Response

Sydney Opera House

This is a photo I took while riding a ferry in Sydney Harbor. Some kids grow up with posters of cars or athletes or rock stars on their walls. I grew up with posters of Australia, including several of the Sydney Opera House. It is my favorite building. From any angle it has something new to say. It is so unlike any other piece of architecture, and so compelling in its setting, jutting out into the harbor, fronting the beautiful Sydney skyline. Some of the more popular photographic angles include the famous Harbor Bridge in the background. Whatever the angle, it is always dramatic, with the white shell-like curves, rising not quite symmetrically, yet somehow complimenting each other. The lines are so different from anything man-made, and the contrasting white outer covering with dark glass underneath, with blue sky above and blue ocean below, obliges the bystander to gape.
It was a financial disaster to build, yet is arguably the best investment ever made by the city of Sydney. Immediately recognizable and forever associated with the land down under, it has brought the city of Sydney more fame than any city in the southern hemisphere, and is a must-see not only for those who enjoy architecture, but for every visitor to the city.