Use the -o option to qmake for a file in a folder that does not yet exist.

Expected Behavior: The folder will be created if possible and things proceed as normal.

Behavior: The folder is created, but also subfolders in the working directory. An error is also shown on the screen if rcc is required for the build.

Workaround: Ensure that the folder containing the generated .mak file is created before running qmake.