EST. 1993 • Sunshine Coast, QLD
Architect Sunshine Coast
Awarded designs for homes, commercial spaces, and sustainable living. We design buildings that actually work for the way people live up here.
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Architecture Built on Experience
We’re Environmental Building Designs. For over 30 years, we’ve been designing homes, commercial spaces, and everything in between across the Sunshine Coast. From Caloundra to Noosa, Nambour to Mooloolaba, we know this region like the back of our hand.
We know which way the sea breeze comes through in January. We know what the council in Maroochydore wants to see before they’ll approve your plans. And we know how to design buildings that actually work for the way people live up here.
Finding the right architect Sunshine Coast residents can trust isn't just about pretty pictures. It's about someone who understands our unique climate and lifestyle.
Our Specialisations
Architectural Designer
For most residential projects, you need someone who listens first and draws second. We handle everything from initial sketches to sitting in those critical council planning meetings.
Building Designer
Thirty years of experience means we know what lasts. We focus on passive solar principles, positioning your home so the sun does the heavy lifting for your comfort.
Interior Designer
Award-winning design that works for real life. We think about interiors from day one, ensuring your floor plan, windows, and storage work together perfectly.
Residential Building Design
Your home should fit your life, not the other way around. Residential building design on the Sunshine Coast comes with its own set of challenges, sloping blocks in the hinterland, flood zones near the Maroochy River, and height restrictions in beachside suburbs.
We focus on ‘Indoor-outdoor living’. Morning coffee on the deck, and kids running between the house and the yard without five doors in between. We’ve worked through these challenges hundreds of times.
Quick tip: Ask any Sunshine Coast firm about their experience with your specific suburb. Council requirements vary more than you’d think between Caloundra and Noosa.
Commercial Building Design
Running a business here? Your space needs to work hard for your staff, your customers, and your bottom line. We’ve designed offices, retail fit-outs, warehouses, and churches from Nambour to Caloundra.
One thing we focus on is ‘flow’. How do people move through your space? Get this right and everything just clicks. We handle the fire ratings, disability access, and parking calculations so you can focus on your business.
Our work has won Gold Awards for Commercial Building Design, but the real win is seeing businesses thrive in spaces we helped create.
Sustainable Design
It’s our specialty, and has been since before it was trendy. We’ve been using passive solar principles since the 1990s, long before 7-star energy ratings became standard.
- Winter warmth & summer cool: Windows are placed to capture winter sun but block summer heat.
- 6 to 10 Star Ratings: We regularly achieve high energy ratings that translate to lower power bills and more comfort.
Landscape Designer
Your outdoor space matters just as much as your indoor space. A good landscape designer thinks about how your outdoor areas connect to your home, creating privacy without blocking the breeze.
We work with the natural features of your block, terracing gardens on slopes or designing around established trees. We coordinate the overall building design so everything flows: the deck extends into the garden, and the pool catches the perfect shade.
Customer Reviews
I engaged Kaarlo to help me with a granny flat build project I was working on. Kaarlo’s design work was very efficient, professional and precise. The plans came back looking amazing and was at a very fair price.
Not only was the expected work done but also connections to builders and other relevant professionals was facilitated. Kaarlo went above & beyond and exceeded my expectations.
I highly recommend this company!
We have used Kaarlo Pesu and Environmental Building Designs for 2 highly successful projects at FlameTree Baptist Church: 1) our present auditorium and 2) our proposed new 1000 seat auditorium with necessary support spaces and services.
Kaarlo is an excellent designer, easy to work with, attentive to our vision and creative in response to the inevitable challenges of balancing function, aesthetic design and cost. He is patient with changes and yet meets his deadlines.
He is conscientious and invests himself personally in the success of any project. Kaarlo is also professionally able to bridge the gap between design, council requirements and project management, saving time and money wherever possible.
We are pleased to recommend Environmental Building Designs and Kaarlo Pesu for the actualization of any development vision.
After much reading and searching, I chose Kaarlo Pesu from Environmental Building Designs to draw up house plans for renovating my 30 year-old wooden box house.
I had never renovated or built a home before so it was a big learning curve for me, made easier because of Kaarlo’s professional approach and commitment to getting things right for the client.
Kaarlo had to create the existing floor plan from scratch as there were no plans on record. He spent a fair amount of time over multiple visits with me walking around the place, hearing my thoughts and ideas, and I found Kaarlo to be a good listener and able to translate my dreams into workable plans.
I really wanted the design to incorporate various environmentally sustainable and thermal efficiency principles and ensure the home fitted with its bush location, which Kaarlo was able to do. Kaarlo was calm and supportive throughout the amendments and all my questions.
Kaarlo fully explained all the process, so there were no surprises and he arranged all the building approval process with engineers, surveyors, certifiers, town planners etc and arranged quotes to undertake the works – all of which would have been impossible for me without his assistance and advice.
Kaarlo’s knowledge and skills in building design options are very comprehensive and his costs were extremely reasonable. He was reliable and responsive, met timeframes and was very good value for money in my view.
I now have a beautiful, contemporary new home, designed in keeping with its surrounds and making the most of the views. It is more open to the northern light, with breezeways and better airflow, verandahs creating easy access around the home, there is more practical and open use of the existing internal space, largely improving the comfort, livability and pleasure. And all this was achieved pretty close to my original budget.
I would be very happy to use Kaarlo’s services again and very happy to recommend Kaarlo to other folk looking for a good building designer who listens and cares and is affordable.
FAQs
Do I need an architect on the Sunshine Coast, or will a building designer be enough?
It depends on your project scope, approvals pathway, and the level of design coordination you want. For many residential builds, an experienced building designer can manage concept-to-council and deliver a highly functional home.
If your project is more complex (planning constraints, higher design complexity, commercial work, or you specifically want registered architectural services), engaging an architect may be the better fit. A quick consult can confirm the right path for your block, suburb, and goals.
Can you help with Sunshine Coast Council requirements and approvals (and avoid plan rejections)?
Yes. Council expectations can vary across the region, and the key is designing with those requirements in mind from the start.
A local, experienced design team can guide you through site constraints, planning considerations, and what needs to be presented for approvals, reducing back and forth, delays, and costly redesign.
My block has constraints (slope, flood zone, height limits). Is it still possible to get a great design?
Yes. Many Sunshine Coast sites come with challenges like sloping hinterland blocks, flood-prone areas, and beachside height restrictions.
The right design approach works with the site instead of fighting it—optimising layout, levels, access, and orientation so the home (or building) feels natural, compliant, and comfortable.
Is sustainable and passive-solar design really worth it on the Sunshine Coast?
What’s included when you design a commercial space (access, fire, parking, and flow)?
Commercial design should cover more than aesthetics. A complete service considers how people move through the space (flow), and addresses practical compliance needs like disability access, fire-related requirements, and parking calculations.
Getting these right early helps your project run smoother and supports a space that works for staff, customers, and operations.
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