Short Termism-Sydney Oprea House-Part 3

Immediately the relationship between Utzon and Hughes became difficult. But this relationship deteriorated further and became completely unworkable when Askin did not approve of a construction technique of Utzon. Next, Hughes began to withdraw payment to Utzon. In response Utzon threatened to resign unless payment was received stating "If you don't do it, I resign". Hughes replied: "I accept your resignation. Thank you very much. Goodbye."

Utzon left the project in February 1966. Sadly, he would never return to the completed building.

The government made no real attempt to get Utzon to return to complete his design for fear of losing the short term political argument. The government instead appointed Peter Hall and a number of other architects to complete the project.

These new architects made a number of significant changes to the design of the Oprea house on the request of the client. For example, the capacity of the concert hall was increased from 2000 to 3000 people even though much of the stage machinery was already designed and fitted. Again, the government myopic behaviour was adding considerable to the cost.

This and other changes to the concert hall have created a flawed masterpiece, as the hall now experiences severe acoustic problem because of lack of early reflections. These acoustic problems are so severe that a recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald stated that "the future of opera and ballet at the Sydney Opera House is under threat because of chronic sound, mechanical and backstage problems". It estimated that the total cost to overcome these problems is about 700 million dollars.

But perhaps such a conclusion is appropriate for the building. The mechanics and functionality of the building were trivial matters to the governments of NSW because there are no votes to be won in creating a high quality acoustic environment or ensuring that there is sufficient wing space for dancers. However, short term political gain is easily accessible by acts of populism and by an addiction to political aesthetics.