Skip to content
  • Home
  • About
  • Peter Hall
  • The Book
    • Order Form
  • Resources
  • People
  • Gallery
  • News
  • Contact us
Site Search
News

Sir Jack Zunz 1923-2018

  • March 4, 2019March 6, 2019
  • by Anne Watson

The death of Sir Jack Zunz on 11 December 2018 was deservedly marked by many obituaries in the media, all paying tribute to his long career as a civil engineer with Ove Arup & Partners. Zunz was responsible for many landmark projects, none more high profile than the Sydney Opera House; in the late 1950s and early 60s he led the team that, working with Jorn Utzon, developed the final roof design for the Opera House. Over four years 12 different geometrical configurations for the ‘shells’ were explored in the Arup office in London, stretching the boundaries of engineering expertise, and pioneering new computer applications.

Dr Anne Watson, author of The Poisoned Chalice: Peter Hall and the Sydney Opera House, first met Sir Jack when working on the book Building a Masterpiece: the Sydney Opera House (Powerhouse, 2006). He was always generous with his knowledge and a genial and gracious conversationalist. In 2014, aged 90, he spoke eloquently and at length at the opening of the exhibition on the engineering of the Sydney Opera House at the Arup Gallery, London. Sir Jack’s personal and professional legacy is immeasurable: the world has lost a great engineer.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/structural-engineer-responsible-for-sydney-opera-house-roof-20181219-p50n4g.html

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sir-jack-zunz-obituary-vqd57m7lb

National Trust Heritage Awards 2018
Peter Hall and the Sydney Opera House Lighting

Related articles

Peter Hall and the Sydney…
National Trust Heritage Awards 2018
‘Curtain of the Sun’ Tapestry
The Poisoned Chalice: Reviews, Interviews,…

Our objective is to create a wider and more accurate awareness of the contribution made by Peter Hall and others
to the successful completion of the Sydney Opera House after the departure of Jørn Utzon in 1966.

All content copyright opusSOH 2017
Theme by Colorlib Powered by WordPress