A trip to Sydney is never complete without a visit to the Sydney Opera House, one of the most popular and most visited tourist destinations not only in Australia but arguably in the entire world. Just like any other first timers in the “Land Down Under,” the very first thing I did on my first trip to Sydney (and in entire country-continent of Australia) was to walk my way to this popular man-made Oz-ian destination.

The dynamic harbour seems to be embodied by Jørn Utzon’s design: a playful encounter among the different elements found in the area: the gigantic and very busy Harbour Bridge, the imposing muscle-flexes of sea vessels and ferries, and the graceful dances of the yachts and other smaller boats. Also, the architectural design, almost a sculpture-like artwork, is a reminder of the beautiful natural landscape surrounding the bay.

According to some online sources, the inspirations of Utzon were the gigantic edifices of the Americas – the pre-Hispanic structures of the Mayans and the Aztecs. In a way, the design was envisioned to be a temple where the public gets to connect with the gods. Others suggest that his inspirations were the huge castles of the Scandinavian region, particularly those from Denmark, his home country. Like what I wrote in the previous paragraph, there are narratives that link the building with the natural and cultural landscapes of the city: the cliffs and the sails of the harbour.

At nighttime, the magnificent opera house transforms itself into another art-form: a video installation/video map. I saw this transformation on Youtube and other social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. I remember during the 2000 Olympic Games, a video map was projected onto the outer shells of the entire structure. Luckily, during my short visit in Sydney, I was able to see a fifteen-minute wall-mapping video about the original locals / indigenous groups (the Eora People) of the very place where the opera house currently stands. It was an amazing and heartfelt video map even if it was only projected on one of the many outer-shells of the building.

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