American Modernist Tectonics vs Australian Gold Coast Topos

In the 1940-50s, when the long stretch of beaches and swamps in the sub-tropical south-eastern Queensland started to be developed, it became the quintessential Australian holiday destination. In the area now known as the city of Gold Coast, modernist motels and hotels were built along the shoreline, while the marshlands were dug and dried into canal developments, largely following Florida as a model. The architectural language of the houses and ‘beach shacks’, on the other hand, was much influenced by the LA Case Study Houses among other American precedents, which was at least partially a result of rather similar climates in southern California, Florida and the Gold Coast.

The identity of the Gold Coast, however, is rapidly changing as a result of both national and international migration and tourism which requires, or justifies, higher density. At an alarming rate modernist buildings are demolished with short, if any, notice. Although some individuals are raising their concerns and sadness about the loss of the area’s identity, others see the change itself as the identity of the Gold Coast. Furthermore, many of the latter regard the Gold Coast as ‘a city without history’, meaning that there is nothing worth preserving, which reflects the lack of understanding the value of its mid-century modernist architecture.

Due to the aforementioned concerns, this paper focuses on the tectonics within the topos of south-eastern Queensland and its specific synthesis of mid-century modernism. The primary methodological framework is that of embedded case studies, which addresses the complex dynamics of the context, explains causal links, and uses multiple sources of evidence. The goal is to generate a theoretical framework for analyses regarding these techniques as part of the historiographies of decolonization and social change in the Asia-Pacific region in general, and that of the Australian Gold Coast in particular.