This is what happens when you try and design/build on the run. This is why you don't "agile" construction.[1] A few things to note that aren't usually apparent

This is what happens when you try and design/build on the run. This is why you don't "agile" construction.[1] A few things to note that aren't usually apparent in these articles. The "Podium" is not just the beautiful concrete walls you see holding the sails; Bellow the deck is around 3-4 stories of equipment and services (some below sea level) that serve the theaters, offices, back of house etc. that extend past the footprint of the podium, out to the edge of the quay in some places. An incredible warren of equipment rooms and tunnels crammed into a space that was probably too small for the final requirements. This is including a large seawater intake system that is used in water heating and cooling, the only one of it's type. I had the privilege of consulting there many years ago and was shown around. It was immense, you could easily get lost. All services you would normally expect to see on a building exterior are hidden from view, no plant, no equipment. Where's the HVAC? The Loading docks? Car-park (under the stairs)? Heck, even the garbage was designed to be picked up by trucks driving through the center of the podium loading dock. Due to the number of design decision made on site during construction there are no as-built drawings (that may have changed in the last 10 years). If you were down there drilling a hole through one wall, it was almost impossible to know exactly where it was going to come out on the other side. In spite of all it's obstacles, latent acoustic issues etc. it is still a one of a kind marvel of modern architecture with no competitor. Utzon and Arup were true geniuses, innovators and visionaries. [1]https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/our-story/sydney-opera-house-history/construction-begins.html https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/our-story/sydney-opera-hous...