Harry Seidler's final Project

The man who shaped much of Australia's urban landscape has built his final building and it is now being offered for sale in Caloundra on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. Mr Seidler died in March 2006 before he could visit his completed building overlooking beautiful Moffat Beach.

The developers Kevin and Hedy Norris bought the land comprising four lots and 2565m2 with two houses in 1972. In 2002 they decided to develop the front two lots overlooking the bay and contacted Mr Seidler, who was not enthusiastic about their project. He was very busy, Caloundra was too far away from his Sydney base and he was due to leave for Austria to put the finishing touches to his 900-apartment complex on the Danube for the City of Vienna. His reluctance was understandable - he was being offered the design of a six-pack in "far away Caloundra". “He didn’t know where Caloundra was,” Mr Norris said.

By a lucky coincidence, the owners were also due to leave for Europe, including Austria, and so Harry graciously invited them to visit him and his charming wife Penelope in their unit in his Vienna complex. There he agreed, subject to a site inspection, to design the six units.

Shortly after his return to Australia, he flew to Brisbane where by agreement they met prominent Caloundra architect Bill Jackson on site. Harry immediately recognised that the site was worthy of his talents and he appointed Bill to represent him as supervising architect of his design.

The design is now a reality which will become a legendary Sunshine Coast building but unfortunately Harry had a devastating stroke on Anzac Day 2005 three weeks before he was booked to inspect his final masterpiece.

Why Linnmere?

Linnmere is derived from a romantic merging of  "linn" - the Scottish word for pool, "mer" - the French word for sea and it's Old English derivative of "mere" - meaning lake or pond. From their vantage point on Moffat Beach headland, occupants of Linnmere can witness the union of Tooway Lake with the ocean. With a lilt to it as gentle as the breeze that sways Moffat Beach’s famous Norfolk Pines, Linnmere represents beautifully the building’s harmony with the surrounding area.