Lyrebird has been recognised at the 2025 HIA Sunshine Coast & Wide Bay Awards, Winning the GreenSmart Sustainable Home of The Year and receiving Highly Commended for Custom-Built Homes Over $3 Million. With so many significant projects emerging across the region this year, it is rewarding to see Lyrebird acknowledged for both its construction and long-term environmental position.
Earlier in the year, Sparks Architects also received recognition in the AIA Sustainability, Residential Architecture New Houses, and Regional Project of the Year Categories for Lyrebird, marking a strong awards season for the home and reinforcing the design’s alignment with material integrity, climate responsiveness and environmental consideration.
Lyrebird Residence
Lyrebird is a custom coastal residence built for a growing family on a sloping site in Peregian Beach on Kabi Kabi Country. Designed by Sparks Architects, the brief called for a functional and enduring home that embraced natural materials and framed its elevated ocean outlook.
The site presented challenges from the outset. The steep, sandy terrain required careful excavation, precise engineering and planning that considered both the short-term complexities of the build and its long-term performance. With limited access, every movement on site needed to be intentional, with coordination across trades becoming fundamental to delivering the architectural vision as designed.
A defining feature of the home is the use of XLam Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) for select walls and the pitched ceilings. The panels were craned into position and set onto a supporting steel frame before the temporary structure beneath was removed, leaving the timber elements appearing to float. Exposed internally, the CLT complements the concrete surfaces and extensive timber detailing, creating a balance of warmth and structural clarity.
Material selection played a central role in the home’s architectural and environmental outcome. Accoya timber features throughout, accompanied by finely detailed custom joinery and a floating silver ash staircase that rests above a planted internal void. Full-height windows and sliding doors draw the landscape inward, while polished concrete flooring and a concrete rooftop planter bring thermal stability and a sense of grounded mass.
Internally, the custom Assegai pendant by Markowitz Design anchors the kitchen and lounge area, while the private ensuite connects directly to the fully tiled, out-of-ground pool through floor-to-ceiling sliders. The ensuite’s custom-made concrete sage bath was designed to pair with the Maleny Green vanity basins sourced from Sticks and Stone, extending the home’s palette of natural tones and tactile surfaces.
This project brought together a complex architectural intent on a site that required careful, disciplined resolution. The clients sought a home that was calm, functional and quietly luxurious. Through close collaboration with Sparks Architects, Lyrebird reflects this intention, balancing practicality, sustainability and comfort in a residence shaped for the family’s present and future needs.
2025 HIA Awards • Sunshine Coast & Wide Bay
Winner • GreenSmart Sustainable Home of the Year
Highly Commended • Custom-Built Home Over $3 Million
Lyrebird
Builder • LAWRIE
Architect • Sparks Architects
Photographer • Christopher Frederick Jones
Project Page • Lyrebird
