The Sydney Opera House construction: A case of project management failure

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...

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.

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-...