Bjarke Ingels
On Jørn Utzon
"Working toward your own Sydney Opera, I think is what any architect ever dreams of.” The renowned Danish architect Bjarke Ingels here expresses his admiration of what he considers the most recognizable building in the world, designed by his peer Jørn Utzon, who would have turned 100 in 2018: “To me, the Sydney Opera is probably the ultimate building.”
Renzo Piano
On Jørn Utzon
“Jørn Utzon was able to do something with the rational, the force of gravity, structure, construction – and beauty, vision, fantasy.” “Architecture is a funny combination of precision and fantasy. Fantasy is interesting, but it’s not enough.” The lauded Italian architect Renzo Piano admires fellow Pritzker Prize-winner, Jørn Utzon, for his ability to combine the magical and the rational. Watch him talk about the world-renowned Danish architect, who would have turned 100 in 2018.
Oktay Nayman
On Jørn Utzon
"He was such a source of inspiration.” “He was a person that was able to see more than other people.” Meet Turkish architect Oktay Nayman, who talks about what it was like to be Danish architect Jørn Utzon’s senior assistant for seven years, at a time of major projects such as the Sydney Opera house and the Kuwait National Assembly Building.
Lene Tranberg
On Jørn Utzon
“He understands how to work with metaphors so that each building is embedded with fantastic narratives.” The legendary Danish architect Jørn Utzon – most notable for designing the Sydney Opera House – would have turned 100 in 2018. In this video, award-winning architect Lene Tranberg shares her love for “the architect who has made the most impact on me and my generation.”
Rafael Moneo
On Jørn Utzon
“The character of the work has something to do with his personality as well." Pritzker prizewinning architect Rafael Moneo spent a year with Danish architect Jørn Utzon in 1961, when Utzon was working on the Sydney Opera House. The Spanish architect here shares how he experienced Utzon – who would have turned 100 in 2018 – in the face of the outstanding project.
Louis Becker
On Jørn Utzon
“He was sacrosanct but also unapproachable.” “He was outstanding in his time. He would be in trouble the way the world looks now.” In this video, Danish architect Louis Becker, of Henning Larsen Architects, describes the renowned architect Jørn Utzon – who would have turned 100 in 2018 – as “a mystic” within the profession, working in unattainable ways.
Juhani Pallasmaa
On Jørn Utzon
“Utzon’s architecture is radical and traditional in an exceptional manner.” “Invention has to have an echo, and that is what Utzon did beautifully.” Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa, a leading figure in contemporary architecture, here praises the esteemed Danish architect Jørn Utzon for the timelessness of his architecture, and his remarkable capability to absorb and combine influences from various cultures.
Jan Gehl
On Jørn Utzon
“I’ve particularly taken pleasure in seeing how now, 60 years later, it’s still so beautiful.” “I thought, it’s incredible that an architect can make something that is so good for humanity.” The influential 81-year-old Danish architect Jan Gehl here describes his first meeting with the Sydney Opera House in 1976, and talks about its incredible symbolic significance: “The Opera House and a kangaroo, then you’re bang on.”
Hans Munk Hansen
On Jørn Utzon
"We architects all stand on the shoulders of others. And I stand on Utzon's shoulders." “He saw everything.” In this video, Danish architect Hans Munk Hansen describes his close relationship with the celebrated architect Jørn Utzon, whom he worked and travelled with.
Hiroshi Sambuichi
On Jørn Utzon
"I feel as if his architecture is a letter for me.” Japanese architect Hiroshi Sambuichi is considered one of the foremost green architects of our time. In this short video, he poetically describes how spending three days at Danish architect Jørn Utzon’s masterly house on Mallorca, Can Lis, made an everlasting impression and “felt almost like getting a letter from him.”
Johansen Skovsted Arkitekter
On Jørn Utzon
“It’s admirable that it’s not just about the location in relation to its surroundings, but also the location in a larger context." Meet the young Danish architect duo, Søren Johansen and Sebastian Skovsted, who together form Johansen Skovsted Arkitekter. They here talk about their extolled colleague Jørn Utzon (b. 1918-d.2008), whose architecture they feel reflects something existential: “It’s admirable that it’s not just about the location in relation to its surroundings, but also the location in a larger context. We’re on Earth underneath the sun, the moon and the stars.”
