Phoenix Rooftop

Thirty storeys above Melbourne, Phoenix Rooftop turns an exposed city rooftop into a green refuge in the sky. The garden lets two professionals downsizing from the suburbs keep the pleasures of outdoor living as they move into the city, reworking the functional areas of a suburban garden for a uniquely lofty and overlooked site.

The 45 square metre rooftop is divided into three connected zones: one for standing with a drink at sunset, one for sitting in the sun, and one for outdoor eating beneath the stars. Raised garden beds define each zone while doubling as balustrade and wind break. Finished with delicate mosaics in green, white, yellow and blue, the beds abstract the colours of the planting itself and hold fragrant, flowering species. Overhead, a sculptural steel arbour carries the canopy of a vigorous creeper, giving each zone its own balance of privacy, sunlight and shelter from wind and rain.

Rooftop gardens at this height remain an experimental science, and the project is an example of the ongoing investigation into the role of green roofs in the city. Seen by thousands of office workers each day, it works as a billboard for environmental sustainability, making the case that buildings can be greener both literally and figuratively. For BENT Architecture, designing rooftop gardens to be lived in and enjoyed is part of the wider social value of green roofs, beyond their environmental performance alone.

Completed in 2017, the garden occupies a 45 square metre site over a single level.

Architecture by BENT Architecture, with project architect Merran Porjazoski and architects Paul Porjazoski, Michael Germano and Fiona Lew. Horticulture by Infinite Landscape, construction by MRU Construction and structural engineering by Clive Steele Partners. Photography by Dianna Snape.