ABSTRACT
The Sydney Opera House is inscribed as a World Heritage site for its outstanding universal value as a work of architecture, as a work of engineering and because of its value as a world icon. Understood within the contemporary discourses on iconic architecture and World Heritage inscription, social value can be connected with widespread representation of the Sydney Opera House in the mass media. The recognition of this place for its value as a 'world-famous iconic building' reveals a desire to recognise the social value of this place and a discrepancy in the way it is accounted for as a self-evident quality of the architecture. The chapter makes a case for a more explicit term to describe the social value of iconic works of architecture. The widespread representation of the Sydney Opera House is linked together with its social value through the original concept of socio-visual value.
