This year the Sydney Opera House celebrates its 40th anniversary, in celebration the Australian Institute of Architects and the Opera House will present an Architecture and Design Symposium on Friday 25 October to be opened by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.

As a unique one-day event, it will bring Danish and Australian architects and designers together on one stage to discuss the contemporary role of architecture and design in shaping our collective cultural imaginations and the cities in which they thrive.

The event is curated by University of Technology Sydney Professor Anthony Burke.

With the Opera House a rich source of inspiration across the two unique cultures Burke says, “The symposium will bring together Danish and Australian architects and designers known for award-winning designs of substantial cultural institutions, contemporary materials research, cultural policy and navigating urban politics, to look at how design shapes our cultural aspirations and our identity.”

From its inception, the Sydney Opera House was always going to be a world-famous building.

“[It is] a symbol for an international audience of contemporary Australian culture, something that defined the city,” he says.

“The arts, media and government came together in their ambitions for this project, and as a consequence shaped the identity of an ambitions and confident young nation.

“In selecting Danish Architect Jørn Utzon, the Danish cultural project became intimately bound to the Australian one, two cultures in one design,” Burke concludes.

Natural Science Centre by NORD Architects. Image: sydneyoperahouse.com.

Speakers at the Next Generation symposium include:

From Denmark:

Jan Utzon – Utzon Architects
Johannes Molander Pedersen and Morten Rask Gregersen - NORD Architects
Dan Stubbergaard – COBE
Jakob Fenger and Bjørnstjerne Christiansen – Superflex
Mette Kynne Frandsen - Henning Larsen

From Australia:

Richard Johnson – Johnson Pilton Walker
Camilla Block – Durbach Block Jaggers
Gerard Reinmuth – Terroir
Rachel Healy – City of Sydney
John Choi – CHROFI
Matthew Bennett – Bennett and Trimble

Centre for Cancer and Health by NORD Architects. Image: sydneyoperahouse.com

The symposium is a rare opportunity to hear from some of Denmark’s most exciting architectural talents such as Johannes Molander Pedersen and Morten Rask Gregersen from NORD Architects, as well as Mette Kynne Frandsen from Henning Larsen.

Pedersen and Gregersen established NORD in 2003 and have since engaged a broad range of assignments within architecture, urban development and societal innovation.

Of note, the Copenhagen Centre for Cancer and Health, House of Natural Sciences and Vardheim Healthcare Centre – all projects that redefine how architecture performs within the realm of public service.

Children's Discovery Centre by Henning Larsen. Image: sydneyoperahouse.com

As for Frandsen, she has been part of the management team at Henning Larsen since 1998 and was appointed CEO of the company in 2003. Under Frandsen’s leadership the company has grown into a leading architecture firm. She has strengthened the company internationally, by expanding its network of clients and partners, with offices in Saudi Arabia, Norway, Turkey and Germany.

A key aspect of Henning Larsen’s projects is sustainability – both climatically and socially. Recently, the Discovery Centre in Damascus is the cornerstone of a training program designed to give Syrian children the opportunity to meet and discover the world through play.

For more information and to purchase tickets to the symposium, visit the Sydney Opera House website.