The Southern Lookout

A 40‑metre viewing platform set within 60 hectares of spectacular bushland surrounding a former rock quarry in Hornsby.

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.

Hornsby Shire Council

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 project was delivered in collaboration with Clouston Associates.