C O N T E X T 1 2 8 : M A R C H 2 0 1 3 37 receive an invitation to the ceremony and his name was not mentioned in any of the speeches. But he was recognised later when he was asked to update the design of the interior of the opera house. The Utzon Room, overlooking Sydney Harbour, was officially dedicated in 2004. Utzon wrote at the time: ‘The fact that I’m mentioned in such a marvellous way gives me the greatest pleasure and satisfaction. I don’t think you can give me more joy as the architect. It supersedes any medal of any kind that I could get and have got.’ However, he never returned to Australia to see the completed work. Following his death, the family passed the house to the Utzon Foundation, which has recently restored it impeccably. The house is now available for architects, artists and other researchers to apply for up to three months of residency. When I visited the home it was occupied by a brightly clad Danish lady visual artist who was playing with a jolly mosaic of brightly coloured pieces of fabric on a white background in the morning sun, enhanced by the brightness of the Mediterranean. Jorn Utzon would be smiling as he looked down on her, content with his legacy. The local stone which was used – a butter-coloured sandstone in standard sizes with rough circular saw marks still evident – makes the house is at home with the surrounding natural colours. The roofs were made from standard concrete I-beams spanned by local arched terracotta tiles. ‘My father loved working with the local craftsmen,’ recalled Utzon’s son Jan some 30 years later when he collected the Prizker prize on his behalf. ‘When he appeared at the building site with some bottles of wine, the craftsmen know that he’d had new ideas during the night and that some of the work already done would have to be changed.’ On the basis of the changes carried out from the initial plans, the quantity must have had a positive impact on the local Rioja business. As Utzon grew older, the glaring surface of the sea became too much for eyes weakened by a lifetime studying pencil drawings. And the number of sightseers knocking on the modest front door became invasive.The Utzons decided to move further inland to the ‘paradise’ site close to S’Horta. There Utzon designed a second home called Can Feliz, which has more distant views of the sea. A visit to Can Lis is inspiring. The spirit of one of the greatest 20th century architects is embodied in the house which he designed for his retirement.The public side of the house is quietly understated, with one simple wooden front door with the number 77 etched into it and one high-level clerestory window. It shows a modest but highly thoughtful and intelligent man who wanted to live a simple life looking at the light reflecting on the sea. The man serving in the local corner shop told me that Utzon had been his best friend and was a genius. Utzon died in 2008, aged 90.When the Queen opened the Sydney Opera House in 1973, the architect did not Tim Morris is an architect specialising in the project management of regeneration schemes. The roofs are made from standard concrete I-beams, spanned by local arched terracotta tiles. (Photos:Torben Eskerod)
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