Chinese colours and the Sydney Opera House (1956-1966): Jørn Utzon's reinterpretation of traditional Chinese architecture

Abstract

Throughout his life, Danish architect Jørn Utzon (1918-2008) was obsessed with traditional Chinese architecture, which played a crucial role in his colour schemes for the Sydney Opera House (1956-1966). However, current scholarship has not yet provided a detailed and rigorous discussion of Utzon's deliberate analogies with Chinese colours. This article seeks to clarify Utzon's artistic debt to China, by closely examining his colour proposals for the Sydney Opera House. Utzon's Opera House colours represent a unique matrix of cultural dissemination and transformation between China, Scandinavia and Australia; a subtle manifestation of cross-cultural influence and mastery of design within the h..