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Out of 233 entries, the unexpected winner was the iconoclastic and largely unknown young Danish architect Jorn Utzon.

As part of the 1956 Opera House international design competition, 233 designs were submitted by architects from around the world with Jorn Utzon from Denmark chosen as the winner.

Construction began in 1959 with the project meant to take four years to complete, but after Utzon resigned due to a change in government, design differences and a blow out in costs, the structure took 14 years to complete.

Sekules says he tried to instil that philosophy when he decided to start his architectural career working alongside Australian architect Peter Hall, who took over the Opera House project after Utzon resigned.

Mr. Gesner’s buildings earned him the admiration of architects including Jorn Utzon, who was said to have modeled his design for the Sydney Opera House in part after the Wave House, and Richard Meier, who lived at the Scantlin House and insisted on its preservation while overseeing the construction of the Getty Center.