Home of the Dharug and GuriNgai peoples
New South Wales
The Southern Lookout is a 40‑metre viewing platform set within almost 60 hectares of spectacular bushland surrounding a former rock quarry in Hornsby. Located within a 15‑minute walk of the town centre, the site – closed to the public for over a century – is being transformed through a landscape‑led masterplan into a regional open space.
Conceived as a dramatic object within the landscape, the lookout is the first element open to the public, providing access to the site and its layered natural and industrial histories. The design draws directly from the site’s legacy, referencing the character, scale, and drama of the quarry and its exposed rock walls.
Realised as a robust weathering steel structure, the platform is refined into a simple, efficient form, resolved as a carefully balanced intervention – technically robust and attuned to its dramatic setting. Its experience is expressive and restrained, industrial, yet settled within the bushland.
The Southern Lookout offers an inclusive gateway for the whole community to experience the tranquillity of Hornsby Park and witness the dramatic beauty of the former quarry, its surrounding bushland and the ancient volcanic diatreme. More than a viewing point, it invites visitors to engage with the landscape and appreciate the scale of transformation underway. As the first public window into Hornsby’s new recreation precinct, the Lookout symbolically connects Hornsby’s past with its evolving future – celebrating the Shire’s natural heritage while showcasing Council’s vision and commitment to creating vibrant, accessible public spaces for generations to come.
Lee Collard, Design and Project Architect
Laura Payne, Design and Project Graduate Architect
Jim Koopman, Design and Project Architect
Clouston Associates, Masterplan and Landscape Architect
Arup, Structural Engineer
GHD, Geotechnical Engineering
Dunnings, Contractor’s Structural Engineering
MBM, Cost Consultant