The Sydney Opera House construction: A case of project management failure(eoi.es)
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The Sydney Opera House construction: A case of project management failure
https://www.eoi.es/blogs/cristinagarcia-ochoa/2012/01/14/the-sidney-opera-house-construction-a-case-of-project-management-failure/
8 comments
As architect this a typical development process. Most big projects fail spectacularly like this. In my time as architect I only saw one big project managed properly, delivered in time, within the budget.
Here every software PM can see the signs and hints clearly. Big projects are usually government projects, ie client changing requests, no accountability, massive incompetence. Changing the development teams midflight! Blaming Utzon/Arup.
Here every software PM can see the signs and hints clearly. Big projects are usually government projects, ie client changing requests, no accountability, massive incompetence. Changing the development teams midflight! Blaming Utzon/Arup.
What’s the realistic cost ceiling for a project delivered on time and within budget? Change orders really seem to ramp up on projects with a $250,000+ electrical budget (probably 1.5-2M total) from what I’ve seen, with projects below that requiring fewer change orders.
You’re correct about the government/government projects. Schools are a bit tighter on changes (for obvious reasons) but I’ve worked on a few projects for a county judicial system and a couple US Federal Court projects, and let’s just say if the judge wants something changed, it gets changed :)
You’re correct about the government/government projects. Schools are a bit tighter on changes (for obvious reasons) but I’ve worked on a few projects for a county judicial system and a couple US Federal Court projects, and let’s just say if the judge wants something changed, it gets changed :)
Watch for such cost effects when a green energy enters a goldmine phase. There is a Scottish energy economist who, working with data from public wind projects, finds the experience curve turning upward (against lower cost). Also IIRC, at his prevailing rates offshore wind was becoming uneconomical to repair after 15 years.
Edit: I owe a reference for such a claim. See: Professor Gordon Hughes accompanying the publication by the Renewable Energy Foundation of his two 2020 reports on Wind Power Costs in the United Kingdom and The Performance of Wind Power in Denmark ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5mXkYcuzWs www.ref.org.uk https://www.ref.org.uk/ref-blog/365-wind-power-economics-rhe...
Edit: I owe a reference for such a claim. See: Professor Gordon Hughes accompanying the publication by the Renewable Energy Foundation of his two 2020 reports on Wind Power Costs in the United Kingdom and The Performance of Wind Power in Denmark ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5mXkYcuzWs www.ref.org.uk https://www.ref.org.uk/ref-blog/365-wind-power-economics-rhe...
Everything that went wrong with the Sydney Opera House project was reversed to go magnificently right for Frank Gehry in Bilbao.
The Bilbao Guggenheim museum was built on time and on budget because it was built with the right tools and the right process. Gehry used CATIA - the CAD program made for designing the Mirage fighter jet.
CATIA started as an in-house development in 1977 by French aircraft manufacturer Avions Marcel Dassault to provide 3D surface modeling and NC functions for the CADAM software they used at that time to develop the Mirage fighter jet.
Since CATIA supports multiple stages of product development from conceptualization, design and engineering to manufacturing, it is considered a CAx-software and is sometimes referred to as a 3D Product Lifecycle Management software suite.
The integration of bill of materials, procurement infrastructure, and lifecycle management meant that Gehry's building would have sophisticated, responsive project management baked in from the start.
Even when the design changed on the fly, materials and supply chain dependencies were informed simultaneously so the project was kept under control.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/oct/01/bilbao-...
The Bilbao Guggenheim museum was built on time and on budget because it was built with the right tools and the right process. Gehry used CATIA - the CAD program made for designing the Mirage fighter jet.
CATIA started as an in-house development in 1977 by French aircraft manufacturer Avions Marcel Dassault to provide 3D surface modeling and NC functions for the CADAM software they used at that time to develop the Mirage fighter jet.
Since CATIA supports multiple stages of product development from conceptualization, design and engineering to manufacturing, it is considered a CAx-software and is sometimes referred to as a 3D Product Lifecycle Management software suite.
The integration of bill of materials, procurement infrastructure, and lifecycle management meant that Gehry's building would have sophisticated, responsive project management baked in from the start.
Even when the design changed on the fly, materials and supply chain dependencies were informed simultaneously so the project was kept under control.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/oct/01/bilbao-...
Perhaps this should read "Sydney"?
But how much is it worth to Australia? There have probably been at least 107 Killian Instagram shots taken there, no? Also, hard to trust an article that misspelled the city's name...
That's how it's spelled in spanish. (I live in Sydney and am learning spanish.) I did however find the inconsistent use of "." and "," for decimal point unusual..
I got hugely into architecture about 20 years ago, and it was my favourite building in the world. I'm a pianist, and for a while back then had a regular gig playing piano in the restaurant near its centre. I'd often look at the ceiling while playing—it was like being inside a giant typewriter—and think how lucky I was!
It's priceless. It's impossible to imagine Sydney without it.
I got hugely into architecture about 20 years ago, and it was my favourite building in the world. I'm a pianist, and for a while back then had a regular gig playing piano in the restaurant near its centre. I'd often look at the ceiling while playing—it was like being inside a giant typewriter—and think how lucky I was!
It's priceless. It's impossible to imagine Sydney without it.
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-hous...