Harry Seidler was a leading modernist architect born in Vienna who emigrated to Australia. In 1949-1950, he designed and built the Rose Seidler House in Sydney, which was one of the first examples of the Bauhaus style in Australia. The rectilinear concrete structure featured floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking surrounding bushland, exemplifying Seidler's philosophy of contrasting modern architecture with nature. The Rose Seidler House had a significant influence on Australian architecture and earned Seidler high recognition.

1. “A GOOD DESIGN DOESN’T DATE” - HARRY SEIDLER
ROSE SEIDLER HOUSE

2. Harry Seidler (1923 -2008)
-Born in Vienna, out from Austria when Nazis arrived and began
their persecution of Jews like the upper-middle class Seidler family
- Leading exponents of Modernism's methodology in Australia and
the first architect to fully express the principles of the Bauhaus in
Australia.
-The home he built - Rose Seidler house - immediately attracted day
trippers and gawkers, the attention of Australian and international
architects, and it won him the Sir John Sulman Medal given by the
Royal Australian Institute of Architects.
Veinna Britain
Seidler family
Persecution
of jews
Family
emigrated
Hurried out

3. Education and Reflection on Harry Seidler
1933-1938
Seidler received his early
education at the
Wasagymnasium in Vienna
1938-1940
He was immediately thrown into Cambridge
society due to an external event.
In three months, the 16-year-old had learnt
enough English to enrol on a course of building
studies at the local polytechnic (Cambridgeshire
Technical School, England.)
1941-1944
When he was 18, he began
architecture training at the
university of Manitoba,
Canada.
[BArch- 1st Class Hons]
1944-1946
He won a scholarship to the Harvard
University where he joined Walter
Gropius’s master class.
A number of his contemporaries on the
course were to contribute to the march of
modern architecture and design [MArch]
1946
He went to design course at
Black Mountain College
under the artist Josef Albers.
This experience led to Seidler’s
lifetime interest in collaborating
with visual artists.

4. Philosophy
- Seidler treated
Architecture as a
form of art. A
design that is
simple but
functional.
Architecture must be socially
responsible, a marriage of social
use, aesthetics and technology.- To create a better
man made world
[Walter Gropius].
Greater richness of form and expression using advanced
construction techniques.

5. Seidler’s Style in General
Futuristic BAUHAUS Modernism
Minimal structural frame stands on 4 columns & exposed both inside n out.
Combination of materials: natural bush stone, reinforced concrete, timber, glass
Mid 20 century

6. Concept of Rose Seidler House
The young Harry Seidler was one of the architects
exploring a new kind of architecture that looked to the
future rather than to the traditions of the past. Which made
this house a first direct local expression of the modernist
principles of the Bauhaus.
The rectilinear form of the house is quite deliberate to be in
strong contrast to the natural form of the land. I prefer to see
beautiful nature – green trees and grass offset by a man-
made geometric square. I think that contrast between nature
and what is built is to me a source of what we call a tension -
Harry Seidler, 1952

7. Rose Seidler House is a special and fragile place. It is an
influential architectural structure in itself but also with
direct association with Harry Seidler and his family, the
contents and surroundings combine to form a bold and
powerful statement about the mid 20th century modernist
movement in Australia.
In an urban environment, Modernist
architecture tends to emphasise rectilinear
shapes and horizontal lines. The structure used
to support a building is no longer hidden which
contributesto the vision of a floating white box

8. Location : 71 Clissold road,
Wahroonga, Sydney
a large wall of windows overlooking bushland of Ku-ring-
gai Chase National Park in the northern suburbs of Sydney
Construction (1949-1950)
Strong contrast between the nature and his
building which gives people a feeling of harmony
and peace
panoramic views of the surrounding bushland,
producing giant green murals during the day and
at night

9. Site contexts
This house was located on compound next
to a public nature since it was next to Ku-
Ring-Gai Chase reserve.
The site had been used to mine pottery
clay,and was considered very remote -
being at the end of a dirt road through
market gardens
After the house was finished, the
surrounding streets were paved and
developed as a residential suburb.
Site Plan

10. - A style that represents his mother. A ‘modern
woman’ she described herself.
- Produces contrast in the site. A man-made
geometric piece of square viewing the
greenery.
Style MODERNISM | BAUHAUS
AN ASYMMETRICAL COMPOSITION

11. A
R
C
H
I
E
L
E
M
E
N
T
S
| CUBIC SHAPES || FLAT ROOF |
| LARGE WINDOWS |
| SIMPLISTIC FORM |
Floor-to-ceiling windows or sliding
doors. To extensively bring in light.
Decor or details not relevant to the
overall design.
Pushes the envelope on
roof design.
Bold horizontal and vertical
features. Straight and angled.
| MURAL |
| MINIMALIST INTERIOR |
Serves as the colour palette of
the interior.
Modern aesthetic believe strongly in
the idea of “Less is More”!

12. SPATIAL ARRANGEMENTS
Ground Floor Plan
Car Park
The house turns its back on
the driveway and looks north
over the Ku Ring Gai National
Park.

13. 1st Floor Plan
Entry to the house can be
through the centre of the house
or by an external ceremonial
ramp leading to the northern
deck or through the rear kitchen
( indicated by the blue arrow ).
The open plan kitchen ,dining
and living areas open out to the
deck, while the bedrooms are
placed on the east.

14. Building ventilation
Natural ventilation : no usage of mechanical systems
Lighting: mostly Natural lighting, glass wall on the east.

15. REFERENCES
http://www.archdaily.com/tag/bauhaus
http://www.marcelbreuer.org/Biography.html
http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/harry-seidler-collection/rose-seidler-house
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