Summary

Award-winning Australian architect James Birrell, born in Melbourne in 1928, grew up in Airport West and attended Essendon State High School. Graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture from Melbourne University in 1951, he moved to Queensland in 1955 and was appointed staff architect to the University of Queensland in 1961.

Birrell assisted in the Stephenson Plan development for James Cook University's Townsville Campus (see James Cook University Site Plans Archive) [see Related Links]. He was responsible for the design of University Hall, Humanities II and the first stage of the Townsville campus library (officially named the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library on 21 May 2008). He was also responsible for a number of important Brisbane buildings including the Wickham Terrace car park, the Centenary Pool complex and the J. D. Story Building at the University of Queensland. James Birrell's distinguished career as an architect and town planner was recognised by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 2005 when he was awarded the prestigious RAIA Gold Medal.

Birrell admired the work of Walter Burley Griffin and wrote a biography of him in 1964.

The collection consists of: photographs; building plans; exhibition material; the RAIA 2005 Gold Medal Winner booklet; two CDs containing PowerPoint presentations to accompany addresses given by Birrell in Townsville and Cairns in 2005; and a third CD of photographs of JCU Townsville campus buildings taken when Birrell visited on 29 August 2005.