Melbourne-based academics Joseph Noster and Millie Cattlin were looking for a damaged site that needed caretaking and rehabilitation. In 2015 they found The Quarry – a sandstone quarry in Beech Forest that had been operating since the 1800s.
Prior to it being a quarry, First Nations Gadubanud people had a long history in the area, including tracks that accessed a permanent spring, which is still an important feature of the site.
The couple run a design and architecture practice and have created a collaborative experimental education space for groups of university students at The Quarry.
They also manage extensive blackberry that dominates the 20-acre site, fed by high rainfall.
‘There was a mixture of heartbreak and awe when we saw the extent of the blackberry infestation.’ – Joseph
View the latest VBT Case Study – ‘The Quarry Project‘.