Unfolding Utzon - Learning from Utzon's architectural acoustic master pieces

For many the architecture by Jørn Utzon is synonymous with the design of the Sydney Opera House that was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. However Utzon's architecture is more profound than the Sydney Opera House. In Europe, Bagsværd Church in Denmark is one of Utzon's most important buildings and the first major public building he completed after the Sydney Opera House. Prior to the design of the Bagsværd church Utzon had worked together with the German acousticians Cremer and Gabler on the interiors of the music halls in the Sydney Opera House. Therefore he knew a great deal about acoustics and worked deliberately with this knowledge in the design of Bagsværd Church. The project reflects Utzon's experience with acoustics obtained from the Sydney Opera house and can thus be characterized as a good acoustic design which is developed from basic knowledge about acoustics such as how volume, shapes and surface materials affect the acoustic result which fits with the architecture. Therefore unfolding Utzon's experience with acoustics may serve for architecture as well as engineering students as great learning which is addressed in more details in the present paper.