History

Design/Completion 1990-1998 - Darlinghurst, Sydney

Harry Seidler (Architect)

“At the age of 80, I’m becoming a visual artist. This could be my rebirth.“

Harry Seidler was an Austrian-born Australian architect who is considered to be one of the leading exponents of Modernism’s methodology in Australia and the first architect to fully express the principles of the Bauhaus in Australia.

Seidler designed more than 180 buildings and he received much recognition for his contribution to the architecture of Australia. Seidler consistently won architectural awards every decade throughout his Australian career of almost 58 years across the varied categories – his residential work from 1950, his commercial work from 1964, and his public commissions from the 1970s. He was a controversial figure throughout his long career as he regularly publicly criticised planning authorities and the planning system in Sydney.

Photo Credit: Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius speaks to his former Harvard GSD student Harry Seidler in May 1954 on site of (Seidler’s) Julian Rose House in construction. Photo Max Dupain, 1954. (original negative held at State Library NSW).

Wilkinson lecture at Uni Sydney
Harry Seidler speak and explained the Horizon in his 2000 Wilkinson lecture at Uni Sydney
(The video will start from where Harry Seidler starts speaking on the Horizon)

RIBA Gold medal 1996 lecture in London
RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Gold Medal Presentation in London 25 June 1996.
(The video will start from where Harry Seidler starts speaking on the Horizon)

The Plans

Horizon Apartments is located in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst. The site had previously been the location of the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABC) national radio studios. Seidler’s intention was to create a tower that makes the most of incredible views to the harbour and city with a tall, slender tower that covers only one third of the block. The rest of the site is made of up two low-rise terrace apartment buildings, while a beautifully landscaped garden, pool and tennis court provide serene grounds above an underground carpark.

The apartments were planned so that the floor space divides evenly between living areas and bedrooms, making these interchangeable. This results in the freedom to create combinations of two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments, with living areas on whichever side the resident chooses, as well as penthouses on the top two floors.

Plan Images > (PDF)

Pre-build postional photos > (PDF)