Innovative teaching and research technologies are bringing mid-20th Century sub-tropical architecture to life at the State Library of Queensland.
Hot Modernism, an interactive exhibition on Queensland’s post-war architecture, uses technology and resources from The University of Queensland’s Schools of Architecture and Information Technology to form a multi-dimensional look at architecture trends from 1945-75.
Architecture, Theory, Criticism and History Research Centre fellows Dr Deborah van der Plaat and Dr Janina Gosseye collaborated with Kevin Wilson and Gavin Bannerman from the State Library of Queensland to create the exhibition.
“This multi-dimensional and multi-media exhibition captures the stories of the state’s mid-20th century architecture, a time when the traditional timber Queenslander made way for modern bungalows, concrete high rises, expressways and shopping precincts,” Dr van der Plaat said.
“Visitors can explore a full-scale replica of the Jacobi House designed by Brisbane architects Hayes and Scott in 1957, and experience a ‘modern’ sitting room furnished with genuine mid-century Danish furniture.
“Original drawings, 3D models, short films and photographs offer insight into the people, projects and ideas that transformed architecture across the state’s suburbs, towns and cities.
Dr Deborah van der Plaat said the exhibition was an outcome of an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant awarded to the Schools of Architecture and Information Technology in 2011. This project has also produced a Digital Archive on Queensland Architecture (qldarch.net) and a book, also titled Hot Modernism, to be published by Artifice (London) in late 2014.
“Post-World War II was an innovative and expansive period in Queensland’s history, and although the architecture of the time reflected this, reliable archival resources were difficult to find,” Dr van der Plaat said.
The research team included UQ’s Professor John Macarthur, Professor Jane Hunter, Dr Deborah van der Plaat, Dr Janina Gosseye, Mr Andrew Wilson and SLQ’s Mr Gavin Bannerman
“Working with Professor Jane Hunter and her team in the eResearch lab, we created a digital platform that allowed us to connect the oral histories of post-war architects with original drawings, photographs and primary texts.
“We also developed digital tools that offered new ways of interpreting this material which helped us to generate new histories for the period.”
“The project also 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 exhibition included digital models of the key houses, animations on the Brisbane CBD and Riverside Expressway, and a display on architect’s travels produced by Masters students.”
Co-curator Dr Gosseye said the project and exhibition had the additional benefit of building community awareness of modern Queensland architecture.
“The architecture of modern Queensland is generally not recognised by the public as historically or culturally significant and thus worthy of preservation,” she said.
“As a consequence, important buildings of the period are increasingly lost to new developments with little protest.”
Members of the public are invited to enter a “Hot and Bothered” film competition, submitting a three-minute short on their favourite Queensland post-war building.
The competition closes at the end of August and the top prize is $1500.”
The interactive model developed by UQ lecturer Michael Dickson, which allows visitors to modify and shape Brisbane’s CBD to reflect their own ideas for how the City might look in the future, has been particularly popular since the exhibition opened.
Executive Dean of the Faculty, Professor Simon Biggs, acknowledged the contribution of industry partners to the project’s success.
“Working with Conrad Gargett, Riddel-Ancher Mortlock Woolley, BVN-Donovan Hill, and Wilson Architects has helped our students appreciate the challenges of designing today for the functions and expectations of architecture in the future,” Professor Biggs said.
“The ARC Linkage project and the exhibition have generated exceptional collaborative opportunities for our faculty staff and students to explore innovation, engage with the broader community, and preserve Queensland’s heritage.
“Thanks to our industry partners we now have the Digital Archive of Queensland Architecture, and that’s a significant legacy for everyone interested in our built environment.”
Hot Modernism is open daily from 10am - 5pm at the State Library until 12 October. Entry is free.
http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/hot-modernism/home
Media: Marketing and Communications Manager Trent Leggatt, 3346 9976, t.leggatt@uq.edu.au, 0413 909 026.
