How Many Tiles On The Opera House Roof

On monday 125 000 of the sydney opera house s 1 056 006 tiles go on sale as part of a drive towards community ownership of the building s future.

How many tiles on the opera house roof.

This is an extract from the publication icons which can be purchased online. Utzon had been inspired by the mosques he had seen in the middle east and north african deserts which shimmered brilliantly through the swirling dusts and sands. Glossy off white tiles make up the majority of the tiles used whilst matt bone color tiles are used at edges of tiles panels or at the edges of the shells picture 1 shows this well. In total there are 1 056 006 tiles on the roof.

In his design principles published in 2002 jørn utzon would remark that the tiles were a major item in the building. As well as the vertical pattern made by the colours and the grouting sydney opera house architecture has a horizontal pattern made by the chevron or inverted v shape in which the tiles are laid across the shell. They were made in sweden. The own our house initiative hopes to generate 15 million towards the house s decade of renewal and launches just weeks after its 40th birthday.

There are more than 1 million roof tiles covering approximately 1 62 hectares sitting over the structure. It is important that such a large white sculpture in the harbour setting catches and mirrors the sky with all its varied lights dawn to dusk day to day throughout the year. The building has 6 225 square metres of glass and 645 kilometres of electric cable. The impressive and subtle chevron pattern has glossy white matte cream coloured tiles manufactured by höganäs ab.

The sydney opera house s glistening roof is achieved through the use of 1 056 006 roof tiles. Eight different tile sizes are used on the shells. Timber illustrates the origin of the roof geometry of the sydney opera house designed by jørn utzon made by ove arup and partners england australia 1961 65. But the reason the opera house is of interest to us here at tile devil is because the exterior is covered with over one million ceramic tiles.

Sydney opera house was opened by queen elizabeth ii on 20th october 1973. Principal curator matthew connell explores the ideas behind the creation of sydney s most famous building. The iconic roof of the sydney opera house is made from pre cast concrete ribs covered with glazed ceramic tiles. The roof is covered with more than one million tiles made by swedish company höganas.

Seven a380s could sit wing to wing on the site.