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Sydney Opera House: Creating a Masterpiece

Ning Su; Lisa Chen;Kathy Wu;Maria Miguéis-Teixeira

Product #:9B21M003
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:Economics & Public Policy, General Management, Sustainability
Setting:Australia, 1973
Details:Case (PDF) • 11 pages • 2021-02-16

Subjects:

Project managementLeadership and managing peopleEconomicsManagement

Industries:

Public administration and nonprofits

Geography:

Australia and OceaniaAustralia
Your Price:$9.71

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The Sydney Opera House, an iconic architectural landmark and United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site, was officially opened in 1973. The project cost AU$102 million and took 14 years to complete—AU$95 million and 10 years more than originally estimated. The challenges with the construction of the opera house included a brilliant and visionary architect who lacked project management experience, team collapse due to misalignment, bureaucratic and political issues that hindered work, and a rush to begin construction without proper planning. What could have been done at crucial crossroads to facilitate the project? What could today’s project managers learn for future construction?

Learning Objectives

The case is suitable for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses on project management or strategy. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:
  • Explore the impact of key project management decisions.
  • Discuss how to evaluate the success and failure of projects.
  • Identify and apply best practices to manage future projects.
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Case Study: Sydney Opera House: Creating a Masterpiece (English version) | Ivey Publishing