page_title: Conrad Gargett
section_title: Establishment
hierarchical_section_title: Conrad Gargett / Establishment
caption_attribution_description: English: Queensland National Bank building corner Queen St and Creek St, Brisbane
context_page_description: Conrad Gargett is an Australian architectural practice, founded in Brisbane in 1890 and is one of Queensland's oldest architectural firms.
  The practice operates out of studios in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle, Townsville and Addis Ababa.
context_section_description: Conrad Gargett Architecture was established as HW Atkinson in 1890 by Henry Wallace Atkinson with the winning design for the new Brisbane Head Fire Station. Charles McLay joined Atkinson to form the partnership HW Atkinson & Chas McLay in 1907. The practice subsequently assumed the position of Diocesan Architect to the Anglican Church, designing a number of schools and churches in South East Queensland. Following the death of McLay in 1918 the practice was renamed Atkinson & Conrad when Arnold Conrad became a partner. The new firm was noted for its use of the distinctive Spanish Mission style in many of its projects. The practice was also appointed to the position of Hospital Architect by various hospital  boards and played a large role in the design of hospitals in Queensland between 1920–80, including extensive projects at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, South Brisbane Auxiliary Hospital (now Princess Alexandra Hospital), Prince Charles Hospital and Gold Coast Hospital. Following their appointment in 1926 as architects to the Brisbane and South Coast Hospital Board, the practice took on a new partner Lange Leopold Powell becoming Atkinson, Powell & Conrad.
  During the post-war era, the firm now called AH Conrad & TBF Gargett (Thomas Brenan Femister Gargett having become a partner) became a prominent designer of commercial office towers in the Brisbane CBD. Most notable of these were the SGIO Building including the SGIO Theatre (now Suncorp Metway Plaza) and head offices for three of the big four banks. The MLC building, designed in 1955 with Bates Smart, was one of the first commercial office buildings to be built in the undecorated, modern style in Brisbane.
  In 2017 a book titled Conrad Gargett was published, detailing the history of the firm between 1890 and 2015. The book was edited by Robert Riddel and attempts to provide a broader historical and architectural context to the various phases in which the practice has operated.
caption: The former Queensland National Bank at 308 Queen Street, completed in association with Donovan Hill
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