Buildings Cities Life: An Autobiography in Architecture, Volume 2

The personal story and philosophy of one of the world’s most famous urban architects is vividly presented in words and pictures.

Discover the life, architecture, and philosophy of Eberhard Heinrich Zeidler, starting with his early life, his studies at the Bauhaus, and his reasons for leaving Germany. In his early days in Peterborough, Ontario, he became a partner of Blackwell and Craig and created homes, schools, hospitals, and the Peterborough Memorial Centre.

After moving to Toronto, Zeidler designed the McMaster Health Sciences Centre, which started a new direction in healthcare buildings and attracted thousands of visiting architects. Many hospitals of this type followed, and architects all over the world appropriated Zeidler’s philosophy. His design of the Eaton Centre succeeded in stimulating Toronto’s dying downtown, bringing new life to it.

Zeidler married Jane Abbott, lived on a farm, and had three children, two girls and one boy. A third daughter was born, and he renovated an old house in one of Toronto’s ravines to raise his family. Projects all over the world followed, including ones in England, Germany, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, West Palm Beach, Beijing, Shanghai, and Dubai.