Showing posts with label Sydney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sydney. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Sydney dust storm; flight chaos, health worries - Yahoo! News
Sydney dust storm; flight chaos, health worries - Yahoo! News: "SYDNEY – Australia's worst dust storm in 70 years blanketed the heavily populated east coast Wednesday in a cloud of red Outback grit, nearly closed the country's largest airport and left millions of people coughing and sputtering in the streets."
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sydney Opera House
It’s hard NOT to see the Sydney Opera House if you visit Sydney. It’s a beautiful site. I didn’t take an in-depth tour, but I did learn some interesting things about it.
In 1956, the Australian government decided to to hold a design competition for a new performing arts complex. More than 230 entries from around the world poured in. One entry was from an unknow
n 38-year-old Danish architect named Jørn Utzon. The irony is that he was first rejected as being “too ambitious”. But in the end the decided to name him the winner and gave him a $7 million budget, and thus the building of a world icon began.
Fifty years and $102 million later…Utzon’s dream icon has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status (this is the only building ever to achieve this with the architect still alive).
The Construction and Drama
The design and construction of the sails took eight years in total, made up of 2,190 pre-cast sections, some weighing up to 15 tons. The total weight of the 10 roof sails is estimated at 27,230 tons.
And it predated green technology by 40 years by installing an air-conditioning system that uses Sydney Harbour to cool the building’s interior spaces. The self-cleaning ceramic tiles (over 1 million of them) that make the sails glisten in the sun were stuck onto plates and hoisted to coat the landmark exterior.
By late 1965, the Opera House was looking good on the outside and Utzon was being a perfectionist and holding up interior work. The government was not impressed and demanded more seats and fast (and on budget). Things hit a head around February 1966 when the newly appointed minister for public works, Davis Hughes, reportedly had words with Utzon causing him to resign and leave the country (wow, dramatic). He has never returned. A new team of architects worked for another seven years to complete the building and we all know how it turned out. The Opera House opened on October 20, 1973, inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1999, Utzon was reunited with his baby and reappointed as Sydney Opera House architect, designing many of the recent changes and renovations including the refurbishment of the Reception Hall which has been renamed the Utzon Room in his honor.
Today the Sydney Opera House stages more than 3,000 events for the benefit of two million art and music lovers every year. In terms of engineering, architecture, culture and iconic status, there is nothing like it in the world.
In 2003, famous architect Frank Gehry said the following poignant statement:
In 1956, the Australian government decided to to hold a design competition for a new performing arts complex. More than 230 entries from around the world poured in. One entry was from an unknow
n 38-year-old Danish architect named Jørn Utzon. The irony is that he was first rejected as being “too ambitious”. But in the end the decided to name him the winner and gave him a $7 million budget, and thus the building of a world icon began.Fifty years and $102 million later…Utzon’s dream icon has been awarded UNESCO World Heritage status (this is the only building ever to achieve this with the architect still alive).
The Construction and Drama
The design and construction of the sails took eight years in total, made up of 2,190 pre-cast sections, some weighing up to 15 tons. The total weight of the 10 roof sails is estimated at 27,230 tons.
And it predated green technology by 40 years by installing an air-conditioning system that uses Sydney Harbour to cool the building’s interior spaces. The self-cleaning ceramic tiles (over 1 million of them) that make the sails glisten in the sun were stuck onto plates and hoisted to coat the landmark exterior.
By late 1965, the Opera House was looking good on the outside and Utzon was being a perfectionist and holding up interior work. The government was not impressed and demanded more seats and fast (and on budget). Things hit a head around February 1966 when the newly appointed minister for public works, Davis Hughes, reportedly had words with Utzon causing him to resign and leave the country (wow, dramatic). He has never returned. A new team of architects worked for another seven years to complete the building and we all know how it turned out. The Opera House opened on October 20, 1973, inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1999, Utzon was reunited with his baby and reappointed as Sydney Opera House architect, designing many of the recent changes and renovations including the refurbishment of the Reception Hall which has been renamed the Utzon Room in his honor.
Today the Sydney Opera House stages more than 3,000 events for the benefit of two million art and music lovers every year. In terms of engineering, architecture, culture and iconic status, there is nothing like it in the world.
In 2003, famous architect Frank Gehry said the following poignant statement:
"Utzon made a building well ahead of its time, far ahead of available
technology, and he persevered ... to build a building that changed the image of an entire country."
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Great place to stay in Sydney: Darling Harbour
Planning a trip to Sydney, Australia and wondering where you should stay? If you want to be central to pretty much everything in Sydney, I suggest Darling Harbour, touted as one of the world's leading waterfront
leisure and entertainment destinations. The area is very safe (as most of the city is) and I will admit a bit touristy, no doubt. But for a first timer to Sydney, you can’t beat it just based on the convenience alone. I stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (great service and prices, thumbs up).
Darling Harbour has quite an interesting history as well. Its journey from ‘derelict docklands to sparkling international playground' has been described as 'a miracle of inner urban rebirth'. Over the past 10 years, the area has won numerous construction industry and tourism awards.
What’s in a name?
leisure and entertainment destinations. The area is very safe (as most of the city is) and I will admit a bit touristy, no doubt. But for a first timer to Sydney, you can’t beat it just based on the convenience alone. I stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (great service and prices, thumbs up).
Darling Harbour has quite an interesting history as well. Its journey from ‘derelict docklands to sparkling international playground' has been described as 'a miracle of inner urban rebirth'. Over the past 10 years, the area has won numerous construction industry and tourism awards.
What’s in a name?
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the original inhabitants of the area around Sydney Cove (the Cadigal people), called Darling Harbour Tumbalong, which literally means ‘place where seafood is found’. Simple enough.
Then 1826 rolled around and the bay was renamed Darling Harbour in honor of Governor Ralph Darling, Sydney's Governor at the time (snooze, I like the old name better).
Development time...Apparently by the mid 1970s, Darling Harbour was not ‘the place to be’ as it was ton of empty warehouses and rarely used train tracks, showing signs of its 150 years of industrial use.
A series of redevelopment projects began, the largest and most impressive was when more than $1.5 billion worth of private and public investment funds were spent to prepare Darling Harbour for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. This renovation is what made it the premium waterfront destination it is today
.
Darling Harbour just about has it all... Darling Harbour is home to the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney Aquarium, IMAX Theatre, Sydney Wildlife World and Powerhouse Museum, it offers some of the finest museums and attractions in Australia. They also host a yearlong calendar of outdoor events including New Year's Eve, Australia Day celebrations in January, the Hoopla Acrobatics and Street Theatre Festival in April, the Darling Harbour Jazz & Blues Festival in June and Fiesta in October.
The area offers a diverse selection of Australian and international cuisine from fine dining to cheap eats and positioned along the specta
cular waterfront promenades of Harbourside, Cockle Bay Wharf (where I tried kangaroo, which tasted like steak) and King Street Wharf. One cool thing about bars in Sydney is that they have to serve food in order to serve alcohol, so they have really great food for cheap prices.
Another item to check out at Darling Harbour is the Chinese Garden of Friendship - a ‘haven of peace and tranquility’ in the heart of Sydney.
Then 1826 rolled around and the bay was renamed Darling Harbour in honor of Governor Ralph Darling, Sydney's Governor at the time (snooze, I like the old name better).
Development time...Apparently by the mid 1970s, Darling Harbour was not ‘the place to be’ as it was ton of empty warehouses and rarely used train tracks, showing signs of its 150 years of industrial use.
A series of redevelopment projects began, the largest and most impressive was when more than $1.5 billion worth of private and public investment funds were spent to prepare Darling Harbour for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. This renovation is what made it the premium waterfront destination it is today
.
Darling Harbour just about has it all... Darling Harbour is home to the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney Aquarium, IMAX Theatre, Sydney Wildlife World and Powerhouse Museum, it offers some of the finest museums and attractions in Australia. They also host a yearlong calendar of outdoor events including New Year's Eve, Australia Day celebrations in January, the Hoopla Acrobatics and Street Theatre Festival in April, the Darling Harbour Jazz & Blues Festival in June and Fiesta in October.
The area offers a diverse selection of Australian and international cuisine from fine dining to cheap eats and positioned along the specta
cular waterfront promenades of Harbourside, Cockle Bay Wharf (where I tried kangaroo, which tasted like steak) and King Street Wharf. One cool thing about bars in Sydney is that they have to serve food in order to serve alcohol, so they have really great food for cheap prices.Another item to check out at Darling Harbour is the Chinese Garden of Friendship - a ‘haven of peace and tranquility’ in the heart of Sydney.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Memories of Sydney, Australia
Ahh what a trip...back in 2006 I went to Sydney, Australia's biggest, oldest and most cosmo city. I gotta say, it is
one of the cleanist cities I have been to, surrounded by national parks and beaches, and containing perhaps the world's most recognized harbor (with the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge so visible).
I saw so much in Sydney, so I will have more posts on the Taronga Zoo, Manly Beach, Bondi Beach soon...
one of the cleanist cities I have been to, surrounded by national parks and beaches, and containing perhaps the world's most recognized harbor (with the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge so visible).I saw so much in Sydney, so I will have more posts on the Taronga Zoo, Manly Beach, Bondi Beach soon...
Some fun facts I learned while I was there...
- A resident of Sydney is known as a Sydneysider
- Approximately 4.5 million people visit the Sydney Opera House each year
- Most of the convicts to Australia were English and Welsh (70%), Irish (24%) or Scottish (5%)
- Historically, more convicts were sent to American penal colonies than Australian (although Australia was mostly designated a penal colony whereas America had various religious refugees, needless to say, this is why Australia is known for its prisoner roots)
- Some convicts had been sent from various British outposts such as India and Canada and there were also Maoris from New Zealand, Chinese from Hong Kong and slaves from the Caribbean
Stay tuned...more to come
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