Utzon, Jorn

▪ 2009

      Danish architect

born April 9, 1918, Copenhagen, Den.

died Nov. 29, 2008, Copenhagen

was best known for his dynamic design for the iconic Sydney Opera House, which in 2007 was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Utzon studied (1937–42) at the Copenhagen School of Architecture and worked under Swedish architect Gunnar Asplund (1942–46) and Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto (1946) before founding (1950) his own firm in Copenhagen. He also traveled extensively and met with such architects as American Frank Lloyd Wright. Among Utzon's important early works were two houses in Denmark, his own at Hellebæk (1952) and another at Holte (1952–53). In 1957 Utzon won the design competition for a new opera house in Sydney. Construction, however, posed a variety of problems, many resulting from the innovative nature of the design, a series of sail-like roofs. He resigned from the project in 1966, but construction continued under other architects until it opened in September 1973. In 1999 Utzon agreed to oversee an improvement project. He redesigned the reception hall—the only interior space that had been true to his original plans—and it opened in 2004 as the Utzon Room. Two years later a new colonnade was completed, marking the first alteration to the Opera House's exterior since 1973. Utzon was also noted for two housing estates, one near Helsingør (1956) and another in Fredensborg in northern Sjælland (1957–60), and for the Bagsůærd Church (1976) in suburban Copenhagen, which has the appearance of clustered farm buildings. Utzon was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (1978) and the Pritzker Architectural Prize (2003).

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