Australia won’t break the bank on renewing Sydney Opera House

The New South Wales Government has announced plans to upgrade the iconic building, 43 years after its opening, with a view to improving the appalling acoustics of its concert hall and opera auditorium.

But the amount allocated – A$200 million, or US$154 million – looks far too small, given that it will also be spent on a new function centre and other structural upgrades.

Both of London’s concert halls have spent similar sums on revamps in recent years without achieving more than marginal and temporary improvements to the prevalent murk. It won’t be easy or cheap to make the Sydney Opera sound as good as it looks.

MüllerBBM, a German company, were appointed accousticians for the Concert Hall element in September 2015.