State Library architect Timothy Hill wins gold

Influential architect Timothy Hill FRAIA, who led the State Library of Queensland Millennium Library Project, has been awarded the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) highest honour. 

Timothy Hill, director of Partners Hill since 2013, was awarded the institute's 2025 Gold Medal at a ceremony at the Sydney Opera House on 2 May. 

The medal recognises distinguished service by architects who have ‘designed or executed buildings of high merit, produced work of great distinction resulting in the advancement of architecture, or endowed the profession of architecture in a distinguished manner,’ according to the AIA.  

Timothy Hill, Brian Donovan and Peddle Thorp led the Millennium Library Project, which helped transform architect Robin Gibson’s original building into a space not only of international standing but one that offered a relaxed comfort that honoured the local environment. 

The project doubled the size of State Library’s South Bank building, set a benchmark for libraries around the globe and secured the Royal Australian Institute of Architects' Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture in 2007. 

State Librarian and CEO Vicki McDonald AM, congratulated Timothy on his outstanding achievement. 

‘When I first started working with Timothy on the expansion of State Library I was impressed with his energy and desire to design a beautiful, democratised space that felt as comfortable as a living room,’ Ms McDonald said. 

‘A place not only of generous and private spaces but one that was marked by a generosity of spirit that encouraged active citizenship, creativity and knowledge-sharing,’ she said. 

‘State Library’s 2006 reopening was a tribute to this deep and creative thinker who has significantly contributed to the everyday lives of Queenslanders.’ 

The signature green concrete, copper building blades and harpullia pendula carpet designs were all part of Timothy’s vision for State Library’s extraordinary riverside building, cherished by visitors and staff for nearly 20 years. 

The AIA said: ‘His contribution to our profession extends to education, professional lectures and various forms of advocacy that, in combination, make him a most influential architect whose impact is felt nationwide.’ 

‘Timothy’s unique combination of architectural poetics allied to a critical leadership discourse – a discourse that defines the larger territory in which architects can operate, all the while advocating for architecture’s greater purpose and value,’ according to 2025 prize jury. 

Timothy’s work also includes: 
 

• Neville Bonner Building (1999, Donovan Hill with Davenport Campbell and Powell Dods Thorpe) 

• Santos Place commercial precinct (2010, Donovan Hill) 

• Daylesford Longhouse (2019, Partners Hill) 

• Cornwall Apartments’ (2007, Donovan Hill)