Step onto the Southern Lookout for a dramatic Australian bushland experience

With this new viewing platform, AJC Architects creates a contemporary visitor attraction amid bushland near Sydney, helping to transform a former quarry

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The Southern Lookout, views of forested nature from a corten steel coloured lookout platform jutting out into the wilderness of Australia
(Image credit: Alexander Mayes)

A new viewing platform, the Southern Lookout, has just opened on the northern edge of Sydney. The structure, the work of local practice AJC Architects, has been designed to bring a contemporary visitor attraction and intervention that turns the spotlight onto Australia’s bushland – and in particular, this area surrounding a former quarry.

The Southern Lookout, views of forested nature from a corten steel coloured lookout platform jutting out into the wilderness of Australia

(Image credit: Alexander Mayes)

Discover Australia's new Southern Lookout

The project, an elegant, linear structure, 42m in length, sits elevated on a steeply sloped site, jutting out towards the leafy wilderness. It is one of the first initiatives in opening up the site to the public (it was previously out of bounds due to the quarry business), who can now visit the 60-hectare space thanks to ongoing landscape-led regeneration plans.

The Southern Lookout, views of forested nature from a corten steel coloured lookout platform jutting out into the wilderness of Australia

(Image credit: Alexander Mayes)

Taking its cues from the quarry's elemental and utilitarian nature, the Southern Lookout adopts a similarly industrial aesthetic with its weathering steel construction. Its form is 'simple and robust', the architects explain.

The Southern Lookout, views of forested nature from a corten steel coloured lookout platform jutting out into the wilderness of Australia

(Image credit: Alexander Mayes)

The platform's shape is striking – slender yet sturdy and crafted to have a minimal footprint on the nature below, to protect the surrounding ecosystem. It also achieves an impressive 18m span and a 6m cantilever, as it projects into the air towards the former quarry site.

The Southern Lookout, views of forested nature from a corten steel coloured lookout platform jutting out into the wilderness of Australia

(Image credit: Alexander Mayes)

The wider setting, titled Hornsby Park, is currently being reimagined by the local authorities, Hornsby Shire Council, as a public open area for locals and visitors to enjoy. Sydney-based AJC Architects and its emphasis on creativity and sustainable architecture were crucial in making the visitor attraction happen. The team worked on it together with the studio of Clouston Associates.

The Southern Lookout, views of forested nature from a corten steel coloured lookout platform jutting out into the wilderness of Australia

(Image credit: Alexander Mayes)

architectsajc.com

Ellie Stathaki
Ellie Stathaki

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).