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Architects: HGA.Studio
- Area: 140 m²
- Year: 2020
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Lead Architects: Harley Graham
Text description provided by the architects. Phoenix House is a profoundly personal endeavor, born from the restoration of an early 1900s Queenslander purchased in Brisbane, Australia. Initially, I had various plans for the property, but life's unexpected twists transformed it into a new home for me and my two children. While stored in the cane fields near Ballina, the house endured brutal southerly storms. When I visited, the tarps were gone, the structure was waterlogged, and the side veranda had collapsed into a heap of hardwood.
Overwhelmed, I broke down. The rot-riddled house seemed beyond saving, yet I had no choice but to press on. This became my 'Phoenix moment'—a symbol of personal renewal. Friends, colleagues, engineers, landscape designers, and contractors rallied around the vision, inspired by its metaphor of rebirth.
Our studio approached the house like a 'remix album.' We stripped it to its core, cataloged the salvageable pieces, and reimagined their use in a sustainable, puzzle-like assembly. Old casement windows were repurposed as the kitchen splashback, rich teak decking adorned bedroom walls, and other elements were creatively reconfigured.
Located in Byron's historic precinct, near my grandparents' original fisherman's cottage, the site faces sports fields to the north, with native vegetation and the bay beyond. The house sits 1600mm above ground, accommodating bike storage, twenty surfboards, and sustainability systems like water tanks, solar batteries, and heat pumps. This elevation, paired with broad timber steps, turns the front deck into a 'stage' overlooking the park. The veranda serves as a bridge between home and community, fostering connection.
The design prioritizes simplicity within its 140m² footprint, creating a three-bedroom home that feels expansive. A striking skylight anchors the living area, while a 3x3 m sliding door frames park views, enhancing openness. The house feels like a finely crafted piece of joinery, with a restrained material palette. A robust blockwork pool and native-filled planters ground the lightweight structure. Next to it, a 45m², 2.8 m-wide studio with soaring 4m ceilings serves as a prototype for future 'tiny homes,' feeling surprisingly spacious.
Phoenix House embodies the balance between Byron's heritage and its evolving lifestyle. It honors the past while offering a model for sensitive, sustainable development as Australia's coastal towns face growing pressures.
