Waterlines

Waterlines
Design Make

Waterlines is a temporary architectural project located at a former arkose sandstone quarry near the town of Beech Forest in the
Otway Ranges of Victoria. The project was designed and prototyped by Monash Master of Architecture students over Semester 2 of 2025 on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri and Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation at Monash University and made over a two-week intensive on-site in February of 2026 on the traditional lands of the Gadubanud in the Projects Quarry.

Waterlines forms part of the ongoing environmental rehabilitation of this damaged post-industrial site led by These Are The Projects We Do Together, who are activating the repair and regeneration of the site through the facilitation of creative projects. Waterlines is the second such creative project undertaken in the quarry by Monash Architecture, following the completion of Negative / Positive in February of 2025. The projects are being undertaken as part of the Monash Architecture Design Make (MADM) program, where students are given direct hands-on experience with taking projects from design concept through to built realisation.

The Waterlines project is situated around an existing waterhole at the northern edge of the former quarry floor. The waterhole was
formed by a natural underground freshwater body being released by repeated quarry blasting and is connected to a gully / channel
that drains water into a neighbouring paddock. The waterhole now acts as a natural sink and biofilter for water that flows across the site and is an important place for gathering and swimming for people and other living things. Adjacent to the waterhole is a former machinery shed that funnels rain into an adjacent storage tank to supply the site with fresh water for drinking, cooking and bathing.

The project brief called for the removal of a visually intrusive temporary scaffolding platform built over the existing waterhole and the replacement of this with something more site-responsive at the northern edge to support various recreational activities. Complementing the Negative / Positive project that explored notions of ground, the Waterlines project is thematically and physically connected to water. The project responds to the broad hydrology of the site (rainfall, water flow, drainage) and the role of the waterhole within this, along with the human occupation of the site in relation to water use including drinking, bathing, and swimming.

Construction was undertaken over a 2-week period by 20 people. For many, this experience was the first real encounter with practical hands-on construction. The building process included the preparation of reclaimed materials, clearing of the site through landscaping and rock chiseling, set-out, and a combination of prefabrication, transportation, and on-site assembly.