The late Harry Seidler AC, OBE (1923-2006) was a famous and controversial architect. He was a post-World War II European immigrant and one of the leading exponents of the Modernism style in Australia. He designed the Gemini twin towers, 40 Victoria Street, Potts Point.

Apartment 10 is for lease through Georgie Woods

https://www.rwebay.com.au/4425235/

Bow tie-wearing Seidler was a maverick but his anti-bureaucratic background gave him two things: a loathing of petty city councils and a design flair for small spaces. The Gemini twin towers is his brilliantly-designed with its 38 square metre apartments. These twins take their name from astrology. Gemini, Latin for the word twins, is an astronomical constellation which, according to ancient mythology, is made up of the twin brothers, Castor and Pollux. Castro is mortal. Pollux is immortal. Both are sons of Zeus. When Castor died the gods intervened and granted them both half immortality.

Seidler’s twin-towered design is linked by an overhead footway creating a bridge. Its footprint is shaped like the letter H. Interestingly, the astrological sign for Gemini is  which, when turned on its side, is an identical footprint.

Gemini was designed for developer Stanley Horwitz, who built them for serviced apartments in two stages in 1961 and 1969.

Apartment 10 now for lease was built in 1969.

It hasn’t dated. The interior design is a masterclass in sustainability. The living room’s large, slim, segmented glass wall, a design novelty, frames north-west vistas through trees to Woolloomooloo Bay and the city skyline. To temper the afternoon sun, the glazing is equipped with external aluminium roller-shutters, enamelled in deep sky blue, another design first, and still in working order 50 years later. Polished wooden flooring with a fold-down bed and 270-degree views from rooms, including the kitchen and bathroom, add a feeling of space and grace.

Every detail is thought-through. No millimetre is wasted. Everything has its purpose, place and function. The concept is a “form within function” exemplar for any architectural student

There is a creative, timeless element about Seidler’s designs that is genius.

However, architecture – good architecture – is not just about space but overall form.

And the form and space within the site are luxurious: it includes a roof-top pool and entertaining zone.

No wonder Seidler won the Wilkinson Award for architecture in 1999 and was then crowned a “designer deity.”

Hear and see more from Harry Seidler about his fascinating life and work at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsTx4uJMvdY

By Andrew Woodhouse, Heritage Solutions