Short Termism-Sydney Oprea House-Part 1

Louis Khan siad of the Sydney Oprea house building "The sun did not know how beautiful its light was until it was reflected off this building".

The architect of this magical building, Jorn Utzon died on the 29th Of November, 2008. His creation and its interaction with the Sydney Harbour Bridge has become a symbol not only of Sydney but of Austrailia itself.

However, this building also serves as an allegory to short termism. The following posts will examine why.

The initial budget for the project was very low at around seven million austriallian dollars. Such a low figure was budgeted because the government of the day feared that the public may turn against the project if a more reasonable budget cost was assumed. Moreover, such a low figure ensured that construction commenced before the election creating some positive short term capital for the government of the day and would ensure that it would be almost impossible for the opposition to mothball the project if they won the election.

Such myopic behavior by the politicians ensured that the construction of the podium began before Utzon had fully completed the design of the building. As the design progressed it became obvious that the original podium would be under designed and would be unable to fully support the weight of the roof. The podium had to be rebuilt later adding significantly to the expense of project.