Karl Fender, OAM
Founding Partner, Fender Katsalidis
Melbourne-based architect Karl Fender is the designer of the two tallest buildings in his skyscraper-friendly native city, the 297-meter Eureka Tower, completed in 2006, and Australia 108, completed in 2020 at the height of 317 meters. He is also the architect of the 118-story Merdeka 118, now under construction in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which at 644 meters/2,113 ft. to the tip of its spire will become the world’s second tallest building after Burj Khalifa.
Karl is the cofounder with his partner Nonda Katsalidis of the firm Fender Katsalidis, based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and now with additional studios in Sydney and Brisbane. He is also Co-Director of the London Studio and Group Chairman of Arney Fender Katsalidis, founded in 2013 as a sister studio of Fender Katsalidis. Karl began his career as a design assistant for Robin Boyd – an important Melbourne modernist, then worked as an architect in London and Rome, before returning to school to take a Masters degree at Harvard’s GSD. Thereafter he worked extensively throughout Southeast Asia.
The video begins with Karl Fender's lecture, followed by Q&A with Museum Director Carol Willis, whose introduction to the webinar is included after the discussion.