Phoenix House / HGA.StudioSave this picture!© Andy MacPhersonHouses•Byron Bay, Australia Architects: HGA.Studio Area Area of this architecture project Area:  140 m² Year Completion year of this architecture project Year:  2020 Photographs Photographs:Andy MacPherson Lead Architects: Harley Graham More SpecsLess Specs Save this picture! 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.Save this picture!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.Save this picture!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.Save this picture!Save this picture!Save this picture!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.Save this picture!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.Save this picture!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.Save this picture! Project gallerySee allShow less About this officeHGA.StudioOffice••• Published on May 22, 2025Cite: "Phoenix House / HGA.Studio" 22 May 2025. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1030209/phoenix-house-hgtudio&gt ISSN 0719-8884Save世界上最受欢迎的建筑网站现已推出你的母语版本!想浏览ArchDaily中国吗?是否 You've started following your first account!Did you know?You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.Go to my stream