Danish architect Jorn Utzon, who designed the Sydney Opera House, has died
at the age of 90, according reports reaching here from Copenhagen yesterday.
Utzon died from a heart attack at a care center north of the capital city
Copenhagen early Saturday. His family members surrounded him in the center,
reported Danish daily Politiken online.
"He had not been doing well since Thursday and had been undergoing a series
of operations recently," Kim Utzon, son of Jorn Utzon, was quoted by Politiken
as saying.
Utzon, born on April 9, 1918 in Copenhagen, was famous for the design of the
Sydney Opera House and the National Assembly of Kuwait. He earned his
architecture degree in 1942 at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in
Copenhagen. Several buildings in Denmark were also designed by Utzon.
In 1957, when Utzon was still largely unknown, he won the international
competition to design the Sydney Opera House. Due to quarrels with the client
and huge cost overruns, he left the project in 1966. The building was declared a
UNESCO World Heritage site last year.
Utzon was awarded some of the world's important architecture prizes, such as
the Pritzker Prize and France's Legion of Honor.
