Reviews
Michael Griese - House & Studio Design
5 February 2020
“I met with Kaarlo initially and immediately felt comfortable to engage him to design my Studio and House on my 4 acres in Mapleton. I was living in Victoria for most of the process, so engaged Kaarlo as my Building Designer come Agent to Design & oversee our project from the conception through to Building Approval. I found Kaarlo’s communication of the process by both phone and email to be constant and informative.
We struck a couple of issues with council to which Kaarlo stepped up & sorted them out, spending countless hours liaising both on the phone and in person with council.
The design was exactly as I had hoped it would be, his fees are reasonable and his knowledge of the environmental factors to increase efficiency is fantastic.
I would highly recommending Kaarlo for any building project you may have.
Michael Griese
Joel Baker - Church Design
21/ 05/2119
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.
Joel Baker
Senior Pastor – FlameTree Baptist Church
John Faull - Granny Flat Design
21/12/2019
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!
John Faull
Director
YWAM Sunshine Coast.Inc.
ABN: 78 4225 86819
John Maxwell - Granny Flat Design
We employed Environmental Building Designs in 2017 in our personal capacity, to plan and design a multi-level 90 m2 “Granny Cottage” to be erected on our son’s property in Palmwoods.
Kaarlo shepherded every stage of the project from initial ideas to building approval stage. His friendly, easy-going manner, excellent communication skills, and dedication to fulfilling specification within budgetary constraints, served to relieve stress and make this a pleasant experience.
Throughout the process, Kaarlo offered valuable insights and suggestions which were informed by his comprehensive knowledge of building specifications and local regulations.
The final product was a set of detailed plans and visual aids which exceeded our expectations and fulfilled our vision. For which reason we would have no hesitation in recommending his services to anyone seeking an honest, reliable and skilled practitioner.
John Maxwell
Stephany Fielder - House Extension
To Whom it may concern,
In 2018, 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 in the rainforest of the Sunshine Coast hinterland. 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. Along the way we changed things, incorporated new ideas and redesigned parts of the plan to bring down costs, with Kaarlo calm and supportive throughout these 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, a small extension was added to improve privacy for guests and there is more practical and open use of the existing internal space, much improving 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.
Stephanie Fielder
David Clark - House Design
To whom it may concern,
KAARLO PESU designed our home known as “Kutu Ktutu” near Flaxton in an environment that includes sweeping coastal views from Mooloolaba to Noosa.
Kaarlo has a keen propensity and talent for incorporating natural environmental factors such as wind, light and sun into his design and people who visit our home all favourably comment on his ability to be able to harness these natural advantages. He has also been able to incorporate a contemporary design with open plan living both inside and outside the house.
Kaarlo has a positive and constructive manner that enables him to work comfortably with other professionals such as engineers, surveyors and council officers and I commend him as a talented and thoughtful designer.
Yours sincerely,
David Clark
George Miller - House Design
My wife and I engaged Kaarlo Pesu to draw up house plans for us. Kaarlo was excellent to work with as he has a friendly approachable disposition, providing a relaxed ease of communication.
Kaarlo was willing to listen to what we wanted and to work with us to achieve our vision. Kaarlo managed to accurately put down on paper what we envisaged, and had the intelligent ideas to add to and improve on the design layout. Kaarlo was patient and gracious and continued to work with us until we were totally satisfied. His advice was invaluable in regards to keeping a reasonable budget and his services were value for money.
Kaarlo was flexible and willing to meet us on site when needed.
Kaarlo was also diligent in providing designs and modifying any changes asked of him. His unique flair and ideas added to the quality of the design with the end result of a breathtaking design of a dream home that took advantage of views, aspects, airflow and a spacious, comfortable and clever practical design that suited our needs.
As CEO of Victory College I would not hesitate in asking Kaarlo to be involved in future building projects. His innovation and flair for design would be greatly valued for any future building projects. I highly recommend Kaarlo to other potential clients as a unique designer who can interpret the owner’s vision and lay it down on paper to bring it into reality.
Yours sincerely,
George Miller
Trevor Carter - Sawmill & Residence Design
The Carter Group of Companies operates a number of trading entities within the group.
During 2004- 2005 it became obvious that the group needed to consolidate all of its activities onto it’s Kilcoy Site which formerly housed only Kilcoy Timber Company, a then very basic country sawmill.
The complex needed to be re-designed and re-developed to include Seapal Pallets & Crates (Pallet Manufacturing Business) and Trevdot Holdings (Transport Division). Seapal Pallets & Crates and Trevdot Holdings were previously based in Brendale, a northern suburb of Brisbane.
Environmental Building Design (EBD) was engaged to develop and redesign the site to house all of these businesses. Kaarlo Pesu, the principal of EBD, took personal interest in this project and was the driving force and direction behind it.
Scope of works for EBD included initial design and planning of one complete factory and offices and re-design of existing buildings. EBD was also responsible for Development Application and Building Approval and compliance with all State and Local Government requirements.
The project was divided into two stages and commenced in March 2006 with completion in March 2007. This included one development application and two building applications.
We, the directors of the Carter Group of Companies are very pleased with the end product and are surprised at the efficiencies incorporated in our buildings. These include excellent use of natural light and prevailing breezes.
We are, in fact, so impressed with Kaarlo and EBD that we have since commissioned him to design our own private residence which has unique requirements due to the nature of the land and surrounding properties.
Kaarlo is passionate about making optimum use of all God-given elements such as sun, wind, light and the surrounding environment on any project.
We would have no hesitation in recommending Kaarlo and his company to any person or organization requiring such skills.
Yours faithfully,
Trevor & Dot Carter Directors