A new viewing platform with a distinctive curved tubular form has opened at the Loch Ard Gorge Blowhole in Port Campbell National Park in Victoria’s south-west.
According to a release from the Victorian government, the project draws upon the story of Koontapool, the Southern Right Whale, and as such is named Poombeeyt Koontapool – ‘breath of the whale’ in the Keerray Wooroong language.
Led by Denton Corker Marshall (DCM) with landscape design by McGregor Coxall and engineering by Arup, the design for the lookout was borne of a collaboration with traditional owners of the Eastern Maar Country, including artist Vicki Couzens.
A communique from DCM notes that Couzens’s “integrated artwork embodies the breath of the Southern Right Whale, a creature central to Eastern Maar spiritual beliefs, where the blowhole itself is interpreted as the whale’s blowhole.”
At the opening of the lookout, Couzens reflected, “It’s an amazing work that incorporates our cultural songlines and stories with the principles of biomorphic design, which is designing with nature and environment.”
“The design avoids projecting over the edge, preserving the sanctity of this culturally and environmentally sensitive location,” DCM’s communique states. “The lookout embeds storytelling, ecology and equity of experience, ensuring all visitors – regardless of physical ability or cultural background — can engage meaningfully with the site.”
Director at DCM and design team lead Neil Bourne reflected, “We are proud to have led the design team on this remarkable project, in collaboration with the Eastern Maar people, to deliver an outcome that is culturally expressive yet sits comfortably in Country.”
Described by the practice as “a sculptural insertion into the landscape,” the platform curves organically into the landscape and coastal vegetation with a shell-like form. The tubular form is sliced open at either end, meaning that the view – like the shelter itself – is revealed only upon approach.
This response to the site is intended to amplify the sensory experience of the blowhole through the sound of the waves and movement of sea spray, while also “evoking imagery of cresting waves, seashells, geological formations or a breaching whale,” DCM’s communique notes. Custom seating, inspired by whale-like barnacles, is intended to provide places of rest and yarning.
Due to the unstable geology and remoteness of the site, the lookout was constructed from fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) – a lightweight and durable material which allowed for precision prefabrication of the lookout in modules, which were assembled together off-site, disassembled and then reassembled into the finished project on site.
The Poombeeyt Koontapool Lookout is the third and final intervention funded under the first stage of the Shipwreck Coast masterplan, each designed by DCM. At the Twelve Apostles, the firm’s design for a cantilevered lookout developed in collaboration with the Eastern Maar Aborigional Corporation was opened in 2024. In Port Campbell, a new pedestrian bridge over Campbell’s Creek completed in 2020 adopts the principle of “treading lightly” to connect the town and national park.
According to DCM, the three projects are linked by the symbolic motif of the black and white cockatoos – the Poombeeyt Koontapool Lookout adopting a recessive, black exterior in contrast to a light interior – however, Bourne noted that they each respond “in very different ways to unique environmental and cultural qualities of their locations.”
The trilogy of projects originated from an invited design competition in 2018, with concepts shaped by guidance from Parks Victoria following engagement with traditional owners. The design team were also the proponents of the 2015 Shipwreck Coast masterplan – a strategic framework for integrating architecture that honours cultural narratives and ecological integrity across the 28 kilometres of natural coastline and hinterland surrounding the Twelve Apostles.
The Poombeeyt Koontapool Lookout officially opened to the public on Friday 12 September. Nearby, construction is currently underway on the Twelve Apostles Visitor Experience Centre, designed by Grimshaw Architects and Aspect Studios.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
