George Freedman

George Freedman (6 March 1936 – 21 July 2016) was an Australian interior designer/architect, popular from 1970 until a younger generation became prominent in Sydney during the 1990s. Born in New York, where he studied architecture at Syracuse University, Freedman arrived in Sydney in 1968 and later designed many prestigious interiors, often including custom-made furniture. His notable interior schemes included executive suites for the Bank of New South Wales (1970) and the State Bank of New South Wales (1985), cultural institutions including the Powerhouse Museum, businesses, government premises, restaurants, residences and historic monuments, including a refurbishment of the [https://www.georgefreedman.com/work-1#/new-gallery-65/ Queen Victoria Building] (2009).

In 2005, Freedman was described by the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' as 'the Godfather of Interior Design'. He was recognised by design and architecture industry experts for his daring and widely emulated combinations of colours, inventive uses of materials, attention to detail, and commitment to high-quality furnishings (often imported signature classics). He was respected also for his sophisticated understandings of optical perception and volumetric manipulations of interior space. For this reason he was highlighted by design writers as practising more like an architect than his colleagues who were educated as interior decorators and designers. Although he never finalised his American degree studies to register as an architect, Freedman worked repeatedly with Sydney's leading architects of the late-twentieth century—including Glenn Murcutt, Peter Stronach, Richard Johnson and Ken Woolley. He also trained some of Sydney's outstanding younger architects and designers—including [http://www.bkh.com.au Iain Halliday] , [http://www.marshall.net.au Sam Marshall], Stephen Varady, William MacMahon, Arthur Collin, Robert Puflett, Tim Allison and his late-career partner, [https://www.ralphrembeldesign.com.au Ralph Rembel]. In 2005 the [https://www.architecture.com.au Royal Australian Institute of Architects] (NSW Chapter) awarded Freedman Rembel an Interior Architecture commendation for its design of executive offices at the AMP Building overlooking Circular Quay.

The [https://www.design.org.au/about-us/hall-of-fame-past-inductees/dia-hall-of-fame-past-inductees Design Institute of Australia] (DIA) Hall of Fame is an enduring record of the pioneers, ambassadors and contributors to the Australian design industry. It showcases Australia's design visionaries, leaders and unsung heroes and celebrates their significant contribution to Australia's economic development and cultural identity. Signifying his outstanding body of work and contribution to the Australian design industry, Freedman along with Marsh were inducted into the 2019 DIA Hall of Fame, posthumous.

Freedman's 1970s and 1980s furniture designs, often finished with luxury European veneers and eye-catching flourishes, were often promoted in Australia's most stylish design magazines, especially Belle and Interior Design. His cocktail trolley for [https://www.georgefreedman.com/work-1#/viii/ Bilson's restaurant] (1988) is in the collection of Sydney's Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. Over the next decades, Freedman alongside his partners worked to inject a [https://www.georgefreedman.com/work-1#/799904201174/ new exuberance] into the standard pattern of modern interiors. Unafraid to play with [https://www.georgefreedman.com/work-1#/944612688034/ new materials and striking palettes], he designed a myriad of homes, restaurants, and offices in Sydney, known for a sense of sophistication and modernity. Provided by Wikipedia