The facility features a modern expressionist design, with a series of large precast concrete "shells", each composed of sections of a sphere of 75.2 meters in radius. forming the roofs of the structure, set on a monumental podium. The building covers 4.4 acres of land and is 183 m long and 120 m wide at its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 25 m below sea level.
Although the roof structures are commonly referred to as "shells" (as in this article), they are precast concrete panels supported by precast concrete ribs, not shells in a strictly structural sense. Though the shells appear uniformly white from a distance, they actually feature a subtle chevron pattern composed of 1,056,006 tiles in two colors: glossy white and matte cream. The tiles were manufactured by the Swedish company Höganäs AB which generally produced stoneware tiles for the paper-mill industry.
Performance venues and facilities
The Sydney Opera House includes a number of performance venues:
Concert Hall: With 2,679 seats, the home of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and used by a large number of other concert presenters. It contains the Sydney Opera House Grand Organ, the largest mechanical tracker action organ in the world, with over 10,000 pipes.
Joan Sutherland Theater: A proscenium theater with 1,507 seats, the Sydney home of Opera Australia and The Australian Ballet. Until 16 October 2012 it was known as the Opera Theater.
Drama Theater: A proscenium theater with 544 seats, used by the Sydney Theater Company and other dance and theatrical presenters.
Playhouse: An end-stage theater with 398 seats.
Studio: A flexible space with 280 permanent seats and a maximum capacity of 400, depending on configuration.
Utzon Room: A small multi-purpose venue for parties, corporate functions and small productions .
Recording Studio: Outdoor Forecourt: A flexible open-air venue with a wide range of configuration options, including the possibility of utilizing the Monumental Steps as audience seating, used for a range of community events and major outdoor performances.
The Sydney Opera House is a six-minute walk to Circular Quay which is regularly served by public buses, trains and ferries to Circular Quay.
To get information about public transport around Sydney call 131 500 or visit the Transport Info website.
Joan Sutherland Theatre and Concert Hall
Bus starts 75 minutes before matinee and evening performances and runs continuously for 1 hour.
Bus starts 45 minutes before all matinee and evening performances and runs continuously for 30 minutes.
Bus starts 45 minutes before all evening performances and runs continuously for 30 minutes.
Joan Sutherland Theatre and Concert Hall
Bus starts 10 minutes after the performance finishes and runs continuously for 45 minutes.
Bus starts 10 minutes after the performance finishes and runs continuously for 30 minutes.