This is a reprint of the edition which was first printed in 1988.

"As designers of buildings, architects make a major contribution to the totality of the built environment, and nowhere is this more so than in the centres of our major cities. On the eve of the current review of the Town Plan for the City of Brisbane, it seemed appropriate that the Queensland Chapter of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects should generate and contribute to public debate on the future direction for Brisbane, which will be established by that plan, particularly as it relates to the Central Business District. To achieve this aim, an ideas competition was conducted to explore the potential for a New Urban Architecture for Brisbane which could express and enhance the unique qualities of a major riverside city in a sub-tropical climate."--Foreword

MMXX tells the story of architecture in Australia in the first two decades of the 21st century. Shaped by unprecedented prosperity, urbanisation, uncertainty and internationalisation, the past two decades have produced some of the most significant and diverse architecture in this country. This richly illustrated volume reflects on and evaluates this period, taking the reader on a journey through varying scales and locations - from ambitious city-making projects to finely crafted homes and elegant sheds nestled in the scenic countryside. Showcasing 59 acclaimed projects completed between 2000 and 2019, the book features work by more than 100 practices. Turn the pages to experience the urban generosity of Harry Seidler & Associates' Riparian Plaza in Brisbane, visit the irreverent and culture-shaping Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart by Fender Katsalidis, and explore ARM Architecture's iconic Shrine of Remembrance on Melbourne's grand axis. Highlighting the impact of the buildings, each is paired with a number that tells a story of occupation: capacity concert audiences, the number of babies born and large crowds gathered to witness moments in history. Alongside the key projects, ten essays by leading thinkers document the cultures and ideas that have shaped architecture today. MMXX guides the reader through contemporary architecture in Australia, foregrounding its invaluable contribution to our built environment and inspiring an optimistic future.

This thematic presentation of the history of modernist architecture of queensland, Australia provides a fascinating case of the interrelation of climatic design and an aspiration for distinct cultural identity for a region. As international modernism swept the world after the Second World War it confronted differing landscapes, climates, and building traditions. The case of queensland is exemplary in this regard. queensland provided the challenge of heat and humidity that the theorists of modernism expected would be a scientific rationale from which regional variations of the movement would grow as Western progressive architecture was taken up in the developing world. But queensland was a relatively wealthy society with a sophisticated architectural culture and a well established discourse on the climatic determination of building form that had already given it a distinct regional identity. Hot Modernism is a thematic history that traces the conflicts and felicities that occurred as international modernism met a strongly developed regional cultural identity. In nine essays written by a group of international scholars and organised into four thematic sections (Foundations: Modernism and its Critique; Influences; People, Firms & Networks and Building Programmes), Hot Modernism highlights the foundation and growth of modern architecture in queensland, as well as issues that are common to post-war architecture internationally, such as urban form and transport, art and education, civic pride and the rediscovery of history. The regional flowerings of mid-twentieth century modernism in Europe and the Americas have in recent years been meticulously dissected and widely published, and Hot Modernism contributes to the emerging understanding that modernism, despite its internationalism, was not a monolit hic cultural movement, nor one that can be understood at a national level. The vastness of the Australian continent, along with its rich climatic, geographic and cultural diversity, necessitates a more nuanced, place-based approach. Hot Modernism zooms into this finer grain as it investigates and expounds the idiosyncratic, regional building practice that emerged in queensland in the decades following the Second World War. Based on substantial oral history and archival research, this publication offers engaging first-hand accounts and vivid illustrations of significant buildings and their under-acknowledged designers.

There are few, if any, architects within Australia who have had as profound an impact on the shaping of a city as the late Robin Gibson. Born in Brisbane in 1930, Gibson graduated from the University of Queensland in 1954. He spent a brief period working as an architect overseas before returning to his home city in 1957. Here, he established an architectural practice that would go on to design some of Brisbane's most important civic and commercial environments, including a cluster of what are arguably the most transformative projects ever built in the city: the Queensland Museum, the State Library of Queensland, the Performing Arts Complex and the renowned Queensland Art Gallery.While he rarely wrote or published on his own architecture, Gibson had an outsized presence in his home city (at one point being named Queenslander of the Year) and his output has been the subject of intense critical scrutiny in both mainstream and professional publications. In its focus on the forms and material qualities of Gibson's architecture, however, much of this criticism gives us an imperfect understanding of the ethos and ideas that drove this prolific builder. While commentators have attempted to situate Gibson's architecture within the conventional folds of international modernism, or even brutalism, this book reveals that Gibson's highly authored body of work was underpinned by his firm belief in the need for architecture to respond to both climate and place - and his enduring love for the geography and environment of Brisbane.

Our built heritage plays an important role in the ongoing story of our city. Modern cities such as Brisbane embraced Art Deco style in its architecture as it swept the world during the interwar period. From inner city landmarks such as the striking McWhirters department store to lesser-known gems further afield like the streamlined Archerfield Airport administration building, Brisbane has a significant range of intriguing and beautiful Art Deco buildings. This publication documents and celebrates a selection of our favourite residential and commercial examples. Written contributions from a range of authors are complemented by stunning modern photography and historic archive imagery, taking readers on a journey through this fascinating era. The articles not only describe the aesthetic and architectural features, but also delve into some of the associated social history.Brisbane Art Deco: Stories of our Built Heritage is a charming and informative reference, and offers a colourful insight into Brisbane's built heritage and the life and times of this dynamic city.