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Discover›Design & architecture
Contents
Harry Seidler
Architect

Harry Seidler

Famoose for

Bringing modernist architecture to Australian houses and city buildings.

Rose Seidler House · Australia Square

Born
25 June 1923
Birthplace
Vienna
Died
9 March 2006

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Harry Seidler

Harry Seidler was an Austrian-born Australian architect trained by leading emigrant modernists.

Early life

Vienna and exile

Fled Austria after the Nazi annexation.

Canada and Harvard

Studied architecture after wartime internment, then trained with Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer.

Career

  1. 1944

    Manitoba degree

    Graduated in architecture.

  2. 1945

    Registration

    Qualified as an architect in Ontario.

  3. 1945–1946

    Harvard

    Undertook further study.

Selected work

Rose Seidler House

Designed for his parents in Wahroonga, the house brought his modernist training to suburban Sydney.

Australia Square

A circular office tower and public plaza in central Sydney.

Harry and Penelope Seidler House

The couple co-designed their own home in Killara; it received the Wilkinson Award.

Beyond work

Planning debate

Frequently challenged Sydney’s planning authorities.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical data and references ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Eric Sierins, Max Dupain + Associates. Copyrighted image; source credit retained · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.