| Danish architect Jorn Utzon poses for the photographer in his home in Elsinore on this April 4, 2007 file photo. Utzon, who died November 29, 2008 at the age of 90, was the architect of the world famous opera house in Sydney, Australia, and the Parliament building in Kuwait. |
Danish architect Jorn Utzon, who designed the Sydney Opera House, has died at the age of 90, according reports reaching here from Copenhagen Saturday.
Utzon died from a heart attack at a care center north of the capital city Copenhagen early Saturday. His family members surrounded him in the center, reported Danish daily Politiken online.
"He had not been doing well since Thursday and had been undergoing a series of operations recently," Kim Utzon, son of Jorn Utzon, was quoted by Politiken as saying.
Utzon, born on April 9, 1918 in Copenhagen, was famous for the design of the Sydney Opera House and the National Assembly of Kuwait. He earned his architecture degree in 1942 at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Several buildings in Denmark were also designed by Utzon.
In 1957, when Utzon was still largely unknown, he won the international competition to design the Sydney Opera House. Due to quarrels with the client and huge cost overruns, he left the project in 1966. The building was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site last year.
Utzon was awarded some of the world's important architecture prizes, such as the Pritzker Prize and France's Legion of Honor.
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