The NSW government has revealed details of renewal plans for Sydney's iconic Opera House.
Australia's most visited site, The Sydney Opera House, will undergo a $202 million upgrade. The renewal will adapt the iconic building to better meet the needs of modern visitors, and will improve the Concert Hall's acoustics, which have never lived up to expectations.
The NSW Deputy Premier and Minister of the Arts, Troy Grant, also released plans to build a new Creative Learning Centre for children and families, to remove the marquee from the Northern Broadwalk, and to make the foyer more accessible and inviting.
The Opera House adds $775 million annually to the NSW economy, according to Deloitte Access Economics in 2013.
Jan Utzon, the son of the famous Danish architect who designed the building, said his father believed the building would need to change over time. “When my father was re-engaged to look into the Opera House, he realised it was necessary to look at the Opera House with new eyes,” he said.
Sydney Symphony Orchestra Managing Director Rory Jeffes said musicians were excited about improvements to the acoustics of the Concert Hall. “People will be able to come and sit and enjoy the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and other great orchestras of the world right here at the Sydney Opera House in one of the greatest acoustics in the world,” he said.
The renewal works will be staggered so audiences can continue visiting the Opera House throughout the upgrades. Work on the Joan Sutherland Theatre has already begun, and the overall project is expected to be completed in 2021.
Architects for the development are ARM Architects, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, and Scott Carver.
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