Guilford Bell was born in Brisbane in 1912 and spent his childhood on station properties in Queensland. He was articled to Lange L. Powell in Brisbane and received a Diploma of Architecture from the Central Technical College (later the Queensland Institute of Technology) in 1935. In 1936 he was working in the office of Sir Albert E. Richarson, head of the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College, London. He passed the RIBA exams in 1939. In 1943 Bell joined the RAAF as an architect. Bell worked for Ansett Airlines before and after the war and from 1949 to 1952 designed the Hayman Island Resort for Ansett. From 1952 to 1961 Bell practised on his own in Melbourne. In 1962 Neil Clerehan joined Guilford Bell in a partnership which lasted until 1964. Bell then continued his solo practice until 1983 when Graham Fisher, who had been working in the office since 1977, became a partner. The partnership lasted until Bell's death in 1992.