In addition to reimagining elements from the Opera House and its previous culinary concepts, Greer incorporated some of the old pieces into Bennelong, including the Fritz Hansen swan chairs on the uppermost level, which he had reupholstered. “If you want to explain to someone how the Opera House was made, you go and stand in the restaurant and you can just see it,” he says. According to Greer, it’s the only spot in the entire building where you can see the complete structure. In the main dining room, the hue is more subdued, allow- ing the other showstopping elements-the building’s soaring concrete ribs, the view of Circular Quay and beyond-to shine through. The bar has a bright ochre carpet “in celebration of people being excited about going to the theater,” he explains. Greer and his team also played off the Opera House’s color scheme and natural tones, though each floor takes a different approach. The new lights have an almost unstable quality, in that they appear to float in space like a constellation. “We played with the original idea and just reinterpreted it in a sophisti- cated manner,” Greer says. An old iteration of the restaurant had 1970s globe lamps-leading to the decision to use Tom Dixon’s new Meltlamps, which debuted at this year’s Milan Design Week. “We like to go in and un-build historicstructures, figuring out where those concepts came from and how to take them forward.” “I always think about the ideas that underpin a project,” says Greer, whose Sydney- based firm, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, has designed everything from cultural institu- tions and Virgin Australia airport lounges to war memorials and the city’s new Old Clare Hotel. Greer calls this“continuum architecture.” For the tri-level Bennelong-which includes the main dining room, the relaxed Cured & Cultured for oysters and charcuterie, and a top-floor bar for pre- and post-show drinks- that meant considering not only the restau- rant’s past, but also its future. The first thing Greer does when approach- ing a new commission is think about context. So you would think the architect tasked with designing its new restaurant-only the fifth in its 42 history-would be just a little bit intimidated. The Sydney Opera House is perhaps the most iconic and recognizable architectural structure on the entire Australian continent. Bennelong looks forward while honoring its storied past.

Sydney opera house restaurant