The Forgan Smith Building is the centrepiece of the Great Court structure in the main campus of the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia.

History

The construction of the building began in 1937, and it was finished in the early 1950s. Its construction was started as an economic stimulus project by the Premier of Queensland,

William Forgan Smith William Forgan Smith (15 April 188725 September 1953) was an Australian politician. He served as Premier of the state of Queensland from 1932 to 1942. He came to dominate politics in the state during the 1930s, and his populism, firm leadership ...

, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. It now carries Forgan Smith's name. Forgan Smith Building 01

Description

The building is 299 metres long, with a 22.7 metre central tower, with an Arts wing to its east, and a Law wing to its west, and a library and a great hall in both ends. The style of the building is described as "inter-war stripped classical style", as well as

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

References

Buildings and structures in Brisbane University of Queensland {{Australia-university-stub