3. Sydney Opera House, Sydney

Widely recognized as a masterpiece in modern architecture, the Sydney Opera House owes its innovative design to a relatively obscure architect by the name of Jørn Utzon. In 1955 the conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Eugene Goossens, helped to organize an international design competition in which 220 proposals were submitted, including one of his own.

Goossens’s proposal, the image to the right, boasts a more conservative design, while Utzon’s displays the now world-renowned shells of the opera house.