Emil Sodersten

Emil Lawrence Sodersten was an Australian architect active in the second quarter of the 20th century. His work encompassed the Australian architectural styles of Art Deco and Functionalist & Moderne. His design for the Australian War Memorial was "the first national architectural monument in Australia". The Australian Institute of Architects presents the Emil Sodersten Interior Architecture Award annually in his honour.

Early life and background

Sodersten was born in the inner-Sydney suburb of Balmain, the second of seven children born to Julia and Emil Sodersteen. Emil Junior and his brothers, Erik and Karl, later changed their surnames by deed poll to Sodersten.

Architecture career

In 1915 at age 16, Sodersten was articled in architecture to the firm of Ross & Rowe and in the ensuing five years studied architecture at Sydney Technical College. During 1921 he also attended lectures at the University of Sydney given by the new Dean of Architecture, Leslie Wilkinson.
The Queensland firm Hall & Prentice was commissioned to design Brisbane City Hall in the early 1920s and Sodersten worked on the project with Bruce Dellit and Peter Kaad. He returned to Sydney in 1923 and was registered as an architect whilst working for John P. Tate & Young. Two years later Sodersten went into private practice. In 1927–28, he became a council-member of the Institute of Architects of New South Wales and was made a fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 1931.
He entered the international competition to design the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. His design was considered exceptional but, as with most of those entered, was over budget. The only entry within budget was by John Crust and so the two architects were commissioned to work together on an amended design. Crust project managed the new building to Sodersten's even more monumental design. After conflict arose with Crust, Sodersteen withdrew in 1938.
In Sydney he designed numerous apartment blocks, including Birtley Towers at Elizabeth Bay, and office buildings, including the City Mutual Life Assurance Building, also with Crust. During the 1930s he worked in association with his brothers Erik, an architect, and Karl, a structural engineer. When Emil visited Europe in 1935 he was impressed with the work of Willem Marinus Dudok and Hendrik Petrus Berlage and from then on worked in the functionalist style. In the late 1930s Nesca House, Newcastle was his major project.
After World War II he designed several shopping centres for the Housing Commission of New South Wales, including the Oakes Centre in Westmead and the Broad Oaks building in Ermington. In 1951, he designed a Canberra chancellery and residence for the High Commissioner of Pakistan but the project remains unbuilt. Sodersten designed the Reid Building for St Andrew's College, University of Sydney, completed in 1953.

Military career

During World War II, Sodersten served with the Royal Australian Air Force in Papua and New Guinea and Queensland as a flight lieutenant.

Personal life

Sodersten married 37-year-old secretary, Elsie Vera Wynn, in the Catholic Sacred Heart Church, Pymble on 7 July 1951, age 51.

Death

Sodersten died of a coronary occlusion at home in Manly aged 62, on 14 December 1961 and was survived by his wife.

Notable projects

Work	Suburb/city	Type	Style	Completed	Involvement	Heritage status	Image	Notes
Brisbane City Hall	Brisbane	Civic building	Italian Renaissance	1920s	Co-design
Gwydir Flats		Residential apartments	Inter-War Georgian revival	1926	Architect	City of Sydney local register
St Peter's Theatre		Cinema	Federation Romanesque	1927	Architect	City of Sydney local register
Birtley Towers		Residential apartments	Inter-war Art Deco	1935	Architect	City of Sydney local register
Wychbury		Residential apartments	Inter-war Art Deco		Architect	City of Sydney local register
City Mutual Life Assurance Building	Sydney CBD	Commercial office building	Inter-war Art Deco	1936	Co-architect	NSW SHR
The Hermitage		Mansion	Victorian Gothic	1936	Restoration	Woollahra local register
Segenhoe Flats		Residential apartments	Inter-war Art Deco	1937	Architect	NSW SHR
Marlborough Hall	Elizabeth Bay	Residential apartments	Inter-war Art Deco	1938	Architect	City of Sydney local register
Nesca House	Newcastle	Commercial office building	Inter-war Art Deco	1939	Architect
Bryant House	Sydney CBD	Commercial office building	Inter-war Art Deco	1939	Co-architect	City of Sydney local register
Seven Elizabeth Street	Sydney CBD	Residential apartments	Inter-war Art Deco	1940	Architect	City of Sydney local register
Oakes Centre		Shopping centre			Architect
Broad Oakes building		Shopping centre			Architect
Australian War Memorial	Canberra	War museum	Inter-war Art Deco	1941	Design	Commonwealth Heritage List
Reid Building, St Andrew's College, University of Sydney	Sydney	Residential college		1953	Architect	City of Sydney local register