James Birrell (1928—2019) was an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

responsible for the design of significant buildings in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. James Birrell practiced from 1951 to 1986.

Personal life

James Peter Birrell was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

on the 24 October 1928, the eldest child of Harry and Elizabeth Birrell. Growing up in

Essendon North Essendon North is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Moonee Valley local government area. Essendon North recorded a population of 3,071 at the 2021 censu ...

, Birrell attended North Essendon Primary School from 1934 to 1940 and Essendon State High School from 1940 to 1944. In 1945, at the age of 17, James Birrell was accepted into the

Melbourne Technical College The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by F ...

as an architecture student. To help finance his studies, Birrell worked part-time as a builder's labourer. In 1947, Birrell began work as a draughtsman for the Victorian State Works Department and continued his studies Part-time. The same year he also became involved in the Contemporary Arts Society, through the Society he gained many new friends, notably Peter Burns. In 1950 Birrell was accepted into Fourth Year Architecture at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

. In 1951 he graduated and designed his first houses, in Frankston and

Warrandyte Warrandyte ( ) is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 24 km north-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham Local government areas of Victoria, ...

, Birrell also worked briefly as the resident Architect at the

Commonwealth Serum Laboratories CSL Limited is an Australian Multinational corporation, multinational specialty biotechnology company that researches, develops, manufactures, and markets products to treat and prevent serious human medical conditions. CSL's product areas inclu ...

. In 1952 Birrell co-founded the magazine Architecture and Arts with his contemporaries, Peter Burns, Helen O'Donnell and Norman Lehey. In 1954 Birrell contributed to the Contemporary Arts Society's exhibition 'Space Modulators' along with artists including

Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of the leading Australian artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of media, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...

Ian Fairweather Ian Fairweather (29 September 189120 May 1974) was a Scottish painter resident in Australia for much of his life. He combined Western and Asian influences in his work. Life Ian Fairweather was born in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, Scotland i ...

Charles Blackman Charles Raymond Blackman (12 August 1928 – 20 August 2018) was an Australian painter, noted for the ''Schoolgirl, Avonsleigh'' and ''Alice in Wonderland'' series of the 1950s. He was a member of the Antipodeans, a group of Melbourne painte ...

Arthur Boyd Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd (24 July 1920 – 24 April 1999) was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd's work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, ...

and

John Perceval John de Burgh Perceval AO (1 February 1923 – 15 October 2000) was a well-known Australian artist. Perceval was the last surviving member of a group known as the Angry Penguins who redefined Australian art in the 1940s. Other members includ ...

. Working for the Commonwealth Works Department, Birrell was transferred to

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, before going on to Darwin and finally

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. In Brisbane James Birrell went on to become

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC, also known as Council) is the local government of the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. The largest local government in Australia by population, BCC's jurisdiction includes 2 ...

Architect and

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

Staff Architect. It was during this period that Birrell designed his most significant buildings. Throughout his life Birrell admired the works of

Walter Burley Griffin Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876February 11, 1937) was an American architect and landscape architect. He designed Canberra, Australia's capital city, the New South Wales towns of Griffith, New South Wales, Griffith and Leeton, New So ...

and in 1964 he wrote a biography on Griffin. In March 1985 James Birrell was elected as a councillor for the

Shire of Maroochy The Shire of Maroochy was a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast region of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1890 until 2008, when it ...

in Queensland. Birrell's archive is held at the

Fryer Library The University of Queensland Library (UQ Library, founded in 1910) provides library access to students of the University of Queensland in Brisbane. It developed from a small provincial university library into a major research library.East, John ...

at the University of Queensland and the

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

. Birrell died 20 September 2019.

Notable projects

Brisbane City Council Architect

In 1956 as Brisbane City Council Architect Birrell designed the Chermside and Annerley Libraries,

Centenary Pool Complex Centenary Pool Complex is a heritage-listed swimming pool at 400 Gregory Terrace, Spring Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by architect James Birrell and built in 1959. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Regis ...

at Spring Hill as well as numerous public amenities. In 1957 his design proposal for the Centenary Pool complex was successful with construction finishing in 1959. Architecture and Arts magazine named the building as one of the top ten buildings within Australia. Birrell also designed the former

Toowong Municipal Library Building The Toowong Municipal Library Building is heritage-listed former public library at 579–583 Coronation Drive, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by James Birrell and built in 1961 by Stuart Brothers. It was added ...

, which was completed in 1961. Located on

Coronation Drive Coronation Drive, popularly known as Coro Drive, is a road in Brisbane, Queensland, which connects the Central Business District to the suburb of Toowong. It follows the Brisbane River from the Riverside Expressway, through the suburbs of Mil ...

, it was directly opposite to Birrell's Toowong Pool (which has since been demolished). The library is heritage listed although is now used for commercial purposes (medical imaging-MRI). University of Queensland Staff Architect Union College and oval

From 1961 to 1966 James Birrell practiced as The University of Queensland Staff Architect. In this position he designed and documented

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

, which was constructed in five stages from 1964 and 1972. Union College was highly commended after its construction. It was visually pleasing while also being innovative in terms of the structure and its response to pre-existing site conditions. Union College received a High Commendation award from Arts and Architecture journal as one of the best ten new buildings in Australia at the time. During his tenure as staff architect James Birrell was also responsible for the JD Story Administration Building (1965) the Agriculture and Entomology Building, now known as the Hartley Teakle Building (1966). Birrell was also responsible for the design of the campus plan at

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cair ...

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

, and several of its early buildings 1964–1970. In 1965 Birrell became President of the Australian Planning Institute. Private Practice In 1966 he moved into private practice. Much of Birrell's work in this period came from overseas. He worked for the University of Papua New Guinea, where he designed the Halls of Residence, Arts/Law and Arts II Buildings, and in Indonesia as a government planning consultant.

Works

* Toowong Municipal Library and Pool designed while City Council Architect. *

Building designed while University of Queensland Staff. *

Wickham Terrace Car Park Wickham Terrace Car Park is a heritage-listed multi-storey car park at 136 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, Queensland, Spring Hill, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by James Birrell and built from 1959 to 1960. It was add ...

* Private residence - 4 Carol Court, Buderim, Qld * Nambour Council Building / Shire Chambers, Library and town square * Brisbane Centenary Pool Centre *Annerley Library, Brisbane * University Hall of Residence, James Cook University * Eddie Koiki Mabo Library, James Cook University * Ken Back Chancellory Building, James Cook University * JD Story Administration Building – University of Queensland * Agriculture and Entomology Building (

Hartley Teakle Laurence John Hartley Teakle (2 August 1901 – 8 December 1979) was Professor of Agriculture from 1947 until 1963 at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. He was born in Hawker, South Australia, grew up near Geraldton, Wes ...

Building) – University of Queensland *

Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation Papua may refer to: * New Guinea, the world's second-largest island in the southwestern Pacific Ocean * Western New Guinea, an Indonesian region comprising the western half of the island of New Guinea ** Papua (province), an Indonesian province in ...

(PNGBC) (now

Bank South Pacific BSP Financial Group Limited (BSP) is the largest bank in Papua New Guinea, with 121 branches throughout the country and in 7 countries. BSP currently services over 650,000 business banking customers throughout the Pacific. As at 31 December 2022, ...

), headquarters –

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

* Agriculture Bank – Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea *

Staff and Graduates Club

Awards

* Union College, University of Queensland, RAIA High Commendation (1966) * JD Story Administration Building, University of Queensland, RAIA Commendation * Agriculture and Entomology Building (Hartley Teakle Building), University of Queensland, RAIA Citation (1970) In 2005 Birrell was awarded the

RAIA Gold Medal The Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal is the highest individual award of the Australian Institute of Architects, awarded annually since 1960. The award was created to recognise distinguished service by Australian architects who have: ...

. Royal Australian Institute of Architects national president Warren Kerr said the Melbourne-born Brisbane-based architect had made a "spirited and distinguished contribution to the discipline of architecture".

Tributes

* The

Staff and Graduates Club have a room named the "James Birrell Room". * Architecture students in the University of Queensland's Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology's Scholars program are known as Birrell Scholars. The program provides the Faculty's top students with enhanced academic, industry and cultural experiences.

References

External links

Collection UQFL117 - James Birrell Papers, Fryer Library, University of QueenslandJames Birrell
Digital Archive of Queensland Architecture
James Peter Birrell Papers, State Library of Queensland

James Birrell oral history

James Peter Birrell Photographs 1957-1961
State Library of Queensland
James Birrell Architectural Plans 1939-2000
State Library of Queensland {{DEFAULTSORT:Birrell, James 1928 births Architects from Brisbane 2019 deaths Recipients of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects’ Gold Medal Architects from Melbourne 20th-century Australian architects People from Essendon, Victoria University of Melbourne alumni