Other difficult debuts

In 1966, Utzon walked off the job, unhappy at the changes, and the job was finished with the help of Arup. Once it opened, its acoustics were notoriously poor, as they still are. But no one seems to mind.

Pompidou Centre, Paris: proposed in 1971 by rebellious young architects Renzo Piano and Richard Richards. With the pipes on the outside, the building would be flexible - whole floors would move up and down. The conservative French government, anxious to placate its revolutionary youth, eagerly grasped the idea and it opened in 1977.

The building did not work out quite as planned. The idea of moving floors was dropped and its deep interior spaces have not been suitable for the display of art. The pipes have largely stayed but are a maintenance headache. When the centre was closed from 1997-2000 for an overhaul, it proved no more flexible than any other building.

London Eye: in the autumn of 1999, Londoners were to be treated to an inspiring sight. The world's biggest ferris wheel was to be lifted from its horizontal position in the Thames into an upright position. Crowds watched as nothing happened.

Then, slowly, it was raised into an oblique angle, where it stuck. And then it was lowered back into the Thames. The glitch meant that the Eye was not operational in time for the great party for which it was intended, the turn of the millennium. But it was an instant hit when it did open. Permission is being sought to extend its temporary planning consent indefinitely and is likely to be granted.

Leaning Tower of Pisa: if the tower were perfectly vertical, it would be seen as a particularly fine example of Romanesque architecture. But it would not be world famous if the soft soil it is built on had not caused it to tilt soon after construction started in 1173.

As its lean increased over the years, it was in increasing danger of collapse. Like the Millennium Bridge, it has finally been fixed, and last year it was reopened to the public.