"Modern Architecture is not a style"

Harry Seidler was born in Vienna in 1923 and studied in North America with some of the pioneers of modernism. When he arrived in Australia in 1948, he brought with him a deeply held commitment to modern architecture. His first house at Turramurra in New South Wales (built for his mother) is now a museum under the Historic House Trust of N.S.W. Other projects include Australia Square in Sydney, 1967, the M.L.C. Centre, Sydney, 1975, the Riverside Development in Brisbane, Grosvenor Place in Sydney and the Shell Building in Melbourne.

"Historically there certainly is an Australian architecture which is quite distinctive. It's the translation of English Georgian architecture into a new climate, and I believe that whenever this kind of thing happens, it yields, quite unique and distinctively Australian images. In the traditional sense, there are of course the well known verandah forms which show that the people who settled here realized they needed protection for the warm, sunny climate."

"The vocabulary, which is the raw material with which you build, is common to any civilized man or race in the late twentieth century anywhere on the globe. What is Australian about our architecture and can remain uniquely so, is a translation of that vocabulary through our way of life, our needs, and how we satisfy them. Our climate and the physical limitations within our economic and technical environment, ensure that our architecture will be called Australian because of the way it responds to our conditions. In my own work I've tried very hard to find solutions which give evidence of this. In other words, our buildings are not necessarily to be found in other parts of the world."

How does Seidler approach his own work? "Modern architecture is not a style, it is constantly in flux. Therefore, when I am designing a building, I aim to unite three basic elements which I feel are the most important considerations for a successful building. Firstly, I seek to express the valid art forms of the twentieth century that should and must have an influence on modern architecture, because art and architecture go hand in hand.

"Secondly, wherever possible, I like to use the technology of our time in harmony with hand crafted finishes. This is something which varies between each country. That's why I don't think it is possible to talk about an "international architecture" - that is nonsense. We can make things here by hand for a custom finish which is probably more difficult to achieve in highly technically advanced countries. By the same token, I've built things in Asia where labour is cheap, allowing me to do things which we couldn't afford to do in Australia because of the cost involved. So architecture has to adjust to the locale and all that is requires. Thirdly, and most importantly, I like to really establish what the people need and want in their building so that its function is assured for a long time; after all, it will be there for a long time!".

Seidler disapproves of current trends in architecture which he dismisses as "imported gimmickry of very questionable modes. It's like ladies hats - it changes from one day to the next. To expect that our buildings will ultimately influence the rest of the world is a bit pompous - I'm little more humble than that. An architect cannot hope to change the world all that much - it has grown too large now - other than to design buildings that are a response to what people want and you find 20 to 30 years later that they still work and are aesthetically valid. So, in other words, you did the right thing because it hasn't gone out of fashion."

To illustrate this point, Seidler takes the simple case of Australian homes of the 50s and 60s. "In the best sense, I think Australians had a lot of common sense. Back then the houses that were built here were unique by world standards, in that they offered very good architect designed homes for the average person. they were planned to complement the informal way of life here which is not European or American because it is minimal. Americans tend to be more lavish. The average man here wants to buy a house which is both economical and consistent with a certain serial production. Accordingly, architects adopted a commonsense solution: bulk buying. they very cleverly designed the houses so that parts were interchangeable, with standardized windows, verandahs, wood framing and so on. The result was homes which provided for the Australian family's need for informality, outdoor living, not much heating (a big difference between Australia and the Northern Hemisphere with its snowy winters) at a price which made them extremely affordable."

Asked what he thought of the development of Australian cities Seidler expressed that there seemed to be an overall lack of forethought when redeveloping existing areas, in particular commercial development. "I would like to see more physical planning in our cities, showing how an area can be utilized, rebuilt, revamped given a new lease of life or more intensified use if it is to be variable, organic totality. But that's not happening. An architect who builds something for an individual client is unable to change the city all that much other than to encourage a more fundamental design in his own buildings. It is difficult to decipher or analyse what appeals to people this century. This is an area of study which isn't covered in Schools of Architecture. It was taught at the Bauhaus where, in the preliminary course, people were involved in exercises designed to make them respond to the physical tastes of others in a visual way. Questions were asked with the aim of discovering why it was that an individual did prefer a particular thing and not another. Those kind of studies demonstrated that the eye is more likely to be satisfied in our time than in any other way."

And what of Seidler's favourite landmarks: Ayers Rock and the Sydney Opera House? Ayers Rock is unique. It is our natural endowment that is known the world over and people come to visit Australia and see it because it is such a fantastic phenomenon. The Opera House, although man-made, is equally wonderful because it has projected an image which is unequivocally associated with Australia and is recognized around the world."