Eberhard Heinrich Zeidler, (January 11, 1926 – January 7, 2022) was a German-Canadian architect. He designed iconic structures and landmarks in Canada and internationally, most notably in Toronto. These included Ontario Place, the Toronto Eaton Centre and the North York Performing Arts Centre, as well as redevelopments of Queen's Quay Terminal and the Gladstone Hotel. His firm also designed Canada Place in Vancouver for Expo 86.

Early life

Zeidler was born in Braunsdorf, Germany, on January 11, 1926. He served in the German navy during World War II. He was instructed under the influence of the Bauhaus school in Weimar and the Technische Hochschule Karlsruhe. He fled East Germany and worked in the office established by Emanuel Lindner, his former professor. There, he constructed several factories and medical buildings. which was meant to resemble a large construction set for children. – to be an "interior street" instead of being simply a shopping mall. Two of the structures his firm designed for the University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore were meant to connect the passing from the 20th to the 21st century. His later projects incorporated elements pertaining to sustainable development. For instance, the Student Learning Centre at Ryerson University (2015) featured a green roof and energy efficient lighting on the exterior. Likewise, The Bow in downtown Calgary employed an energy efficient glass facade, interior atria, and roof gardens.

Zeidler officially retired in 2009, but continued to go to work daily as a senior partner emeritus at the firm, now called Zeidler Partnership Architects, in Toronto. Zeidler published his autobiography, Buildings Cities Life, in 2013. He has also received the Order of Ontario that same year. He was conferred the gold medal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and became a recipient of the Governor General's Medal in Architecture for the project of Queen's Quay Terminal in 1986. The library and family reading room in the Daniels Building – housing the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto – is named in his honour. and remained married until his death. He was 95 years old, and was four days shy of his 96th birthday and nineteen days shy of his 65th wedding anniversary.

  • Living Arts Centre, 1997, Mississauga, Ontario
  • Hospital for Sick Children Atrium, 1993, Toronto
  • Rogers Office Campus, 1992, Toronto

<!-- * Royal Victoria Hospital Atrium, Barrie

  • Markham Stouffville Hospital, 1990, Markham, Ontario -->
  • Gladstone Hotel restoration, 2002–2003, Toronto

Bibliography

References

  • Zeidler Partnership Architects
  • Artfact biography
  • Eberhard Zeidler - verso francais