Sydney Opera House

From the moment you round the corner at Circular Quay and first see the tile-clad shells catching the light against the blue harbour, it is unmistakable — one of those buildings that somehow looks exactly as you expected and still astonishing at the same time.

The interior is a contrast of cool white corridors and hushed performance halls with warm timber and extraordinary acoustics; even without a ticket, walking through the building reveals a logic of space and light that justifies Utzon's decade-long struggle to bring it to life.

At night the sails are illuminated and the harbour becomes a dark mirror; the building reads differently from every angle, which is why visitors circle it on foot, by ferry and from the Harbour Bridge viewpoint.

The surrounding Bennelong Point is a promontory with the city skyline as a backdrop and the Harbour Bridge arcing beside it — the whole harbour in one frame.

It is the most recognised building in Australia and arguably the most famous performing-arts centre in the world, a landmark whose silhouette appears on countless postcards and travel photographs.

Jørn Utzon's design broke with every convention of its time; the engineering of the shell-like vaults and the way the building meets the harbour edge remain remarkable feats decades after completion.

The interior performance halls host opera, ballet, theatre and concerts in spaces designed specifically for acoustic excellence, making a live performance here a fundamentally different experience from seeing the building from outside.

The UNESCO World Heritage inscription recognises the building as a masterpiece of human creative genius and an architectural landmark of the 20th century.