Harry Seidler : Architecture, Art and Collaborative Design

2013-11-08 (Creation date: 2013-11-08)

Belogolovskiĭ, Vladimir, 1970-

This illustrated lecture traces the life and work of Sydney architect Harry Seidler (1923-2006), his key role in bringing Modernism and Bauhaus principles to Australia, identifies his distinctive hand, and explores long-lasting creative collaborations with leading visionaries of the 20th century, including with architects Marcel Breuer and Oscar Niemeyer; artists Josef Albers, Alexander Calder, Norman Carlberg, Charles Perry, Frank Stella, and Lin Utzon; engineer Pier Luigi Nervi, photographer Max Dupain, and developer Dick Dusseldorp, founder of Lend Lease Corporation. In almost sixty years, Seidler has realized over 120 of his designs—from houses to mixed-use multi-story towers and prominent government commissions—all over Australia, as well as in Austria, France, Israel, Italy, Mexico, and Hong Kong. 

Apart from the architect’s creative achievements, the lecture will reveal a story of Seidler’s life, a fascinating journey from his motherland of Austria to England, Canada, the United States, Brazil, and finally, to Australia, where he settled in 1948, eventually becoming the country’s most accomplished architect. Among projects to be discussed: Rose Seidler House (1950), Harry and Penelope Seidler House (1967), and Australia Square (1967) in Sydney; Edmund Barton Building (Canberra, 1974), Australian Embassy (Paris, 1977), Hong Kong Club (HK, 1984), Shell Headquarters (Melbourne, 1989) and residential complex Wohnpark Neue Donau (Vienna, 1998).

Seidler, Harry, 1923-2006; Architecture--Australia--History--20th century

School of Architecture Lectures

University of Virginia School of Architecture