In his early years he lived in Beaumaris and attended Kostka Hall a preparatory school to Xavier College where he completed his secondary education.
His Future Shack prototype was exhibited from May to October 2004 at the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper Hewitt Design Museum in New York.
In July 2013 he was visiting professor at Iuav University of Venice and delivered the UNESCO chair open lecture in Mantova, Italy.
In 2010 the prototype of the RMIT Design Hub façade was exhibited in Gallery MA in Tokyo before being transported in 2011 to its permanent home at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
At the National Prizes announcement the jury commended Godsell's body of work describing it as demonstrating “an extraordinary commitment to excellence in design, detail and resolution".