The Bondi Synagogue designed by Harry Seidler / photo by Max Dupain, Copyright: Penelope Seidler (courtesy of)
(from “The National Tribune”)
Waverley Council is inviting the community to provide feedback about the proposed heritage listing of the 1950s Harry Seidler-designed synagogue at 34 Flood Street, Bondi.
The Planning Proposal is on public exhibition until Thursday 14 September at haveyoursay.waverley.nsw.gov.au/heritage-listing-34-flood-street. The Department of Planning and Environment is the consenting authority.
The synagogue is recognised as a ground-breaking building for its time and displays architect Seidler’s distinctive interpretation of the Bauhaus style.
It also has strong historical significance for the development of Jewish religion in NSW because it is the first Talmudical school with an integral synagogue.
A detailed Heritage Assessment of 34 Flood Street prepared in May 2023 by Hector Abrahams Architects determined that the synagogue (located at the front of the block) has heritage significance, rendering it worthy of local heritage listing in the Waverley Local Environmental Plan (WLEP) 2012.
Specifically, the assessment found that the synagogue and former Sydney Talmudical College has heritage significance as:
- A seminal work in the civic and sculptural concrete architecture of the pre-eminent Australian Modern architect Harry Seidler, displaying the application of Bauhaus principles for which he is known
- The largest and best example of thin concrete shell technology of the 1950s in NSW
- One of the most architecturally distinguished religious chambers of the immediate post-war period in NSW and one of the finest synagogues of the period
- A historically important place in the development of Jewish religion in NSW, the post-war migration period, as the first Talmudical school with an integral synagogue
- Highly representative of the history of post-war migration in NSW, being the establishment of a new religious building and educational institution by a migrant community
- A place held in high esteem by the Jewish community of Waverley and broader afield.
Read the full article in The National Tribune
download:
- Planning Proposal Report – 34 Flood Street, Bondi / PDF (6.31 MB)
- Heritage Assessment 34 Flood Street Bondi / PDF (6.31 MB)
- Gateway Determination – 34 Flood Street, Bondi / PDF (76.78 KB)
The Bondi Synagogue designed by Harry Seidler / photo by Max Dupain, Copyright: Penelope Seidler (courtesy of)