The building, which has hosted some of Australia's most important art exhibitions, was designed by a Pole who was unable to return to his homeland for years after the war. The story of Kazimierz Sierakowski is the story of a war refugee who, through his knowledge, determination and talent, became part of the architectural landscape of the city of Perth in Western Australia. Today, his works have become part of Australia's national heritage.

From Warsaw to Perth - history with war in the background

Kazimierz Sierakowski was born in Warsaw. After the fall of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, he was sent to a German camp as a prisoner of war. He never returned to Poland. After the war, he took up studies in Rome and then studied architecture in London . Over the following years he worked on the restoration of British museums and galleries, and as an architect in London and Ghana.

Perth or designing the city of the future

In 1973, Sierakowski moved to Perth at the invitation of the authorities of the state of Western Australia. Together with another Pole, Tadeusz Andrzejaczek, he began work on the monumental Perth Cultural Centre project, a complex of buildings that were to combine modernity with functionality and create a new cultural centre.

The most important building was the Art Gallery of Western Australia, opened in 1979 as the centrepiece of the 150th anniversary celebrations of settlement in the region. The building was designed by Sierakowski, who visited galleries across the country to adapt the design to meet the needs of modern museology.

The gallery took the form of a multi-level complex with an area of over 10,000 square metres. Its most distinctive feature was its plan based on a hexagon - a geometric layout that allowed for flexible arrangement of the exhibition space and a wide field of view of the works. The halls were artificially lit to protect the delicate exhibits from UV rays.

Work on the Perth Cultural Centre had been underway since 1973. It is a complex of buildings on an irregular plan, reinforced concrete construction, brick cladding. The architect of the complex was Kazimierz Sierakowski, a Polish architect residing in Australia since 1973. He collaborated on the project with another Polish architect, Tadeusz Andrzejczak .

The Perth Cultural Centre is an area of central Perth, Western Australia, near James Street Mall. The cultural centre in Perth includes the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Western Australian Museum, State Library of Western Australia, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Blue Room Theatre, State Theatre Centre of Western Australia,Central Institute of Technology State Records Office.

Sierakowski's other realisations

Although the Art Gallery was Sierakowski's most important work, his output in Perth is much broader . He has also designed, among others:

• TAFE College of Graphic Art and Design in Aberdeen Street - a modern educational campus.
• The adaptation of Subiaco Town Hall for the 'Hole in the Wall' theatre (awarded a local award in 1985).
• Contributing to urban design for Perth city centre, including plans for Forrest Place, City Station and Perth Foreshore.
• Work on the State Library (Alexander Library), where he was responsible not only for the architectural design but also for the selection of artwork for the interiors.
• In 1989 he was seconded to Darwin in the Northern Territory to develop a feasibility study for a parliamentary precinct.