Hot Modernism: Building modern Queensland 1945–75

State Library of Queensland, 9 July–12 October 2014

Lead researchers: Professor John Macarthur, Dr Deborah van der Plaat, Dr Janina Gosseye, Dr Andrew Wilson

This interactive exhibition on Queensland’s post-war architecture used technology and resources from The University of Queensland’s School of Architecture, Design and Planning and the School of Information Technology to form a multi-dimensional look at architecture trends from 1945 to 1975. The exhibition attracted 18,000 visitors and extensive press. 

Hot Modernism captured the stories of the state’s mid-twentieth-century architecture, a time when the traditional timber Queenslander made way for modern bungaows, concrete high rises, expressways and shopping precincts. Featuring archival photographs, original drawings and 3D models, the exhibition charted the history of this Queensland twentieth-century sub-tropical modernism, with not only the stories of the architecture but also the people who created it, worked and lived in the buildings.

“By documenting these histories through interviews and photographic collection, the research will record, for the first time, this threatened historical knowledge. Moreover, this project is also about teaching people to appreciate the unique aesthetic of these buildings.” 

 Dr Janina Gosseye
Honorary Senior Fellow

The groundbreaking projects included Centenary Pool by James Birrell and Torbreck apartment building by AH Job and RP Froud. Many of UQ’s landmark buildings also featured in the exhibition, including Central Library (now Duhig North), JD Storey Administration Building, Union College and the Hartley Teakle Building. A highlight of the exhibition was a full-scale recreation of 1957 Jacobi House by Cameron Scott – one of Brisbane’s most iconic mid-century houses – which was used to host a talk by multiple generations of its residents.

The project gave students the opportunity to work with architects from the period to digitally recreate lost projects and to document the era’s interests and influences.

The project also built public awareness and communities of interest in Queensland architecture, especially the need to conserve the architecture of the post-war period. The exhibition had over 18, 000 visitors, its own #, and was reviewed in both architectural journals (including Architecture Australia and the Journal of Architecture) and popular broadsheets (such as the Conversation, the Guardian and the Courier Mail).

This research was conducted in the ATCH (Architecture Theory Culture History) research centre at the University of Queensland. The research was funded by the Australian Research Council under the Linkage Project grant scheme.