Sunshine Beach House — Coastal Architecture at the Edge of Noosa National Park
Sunshine Beach sits at the southern edge of Noosa National Park — one of the most protected and beautiful stretches of Queensland coastline. It is a small, quiet community of perhaps a thousand homes, bordered by national park on three sides and the Pacific Ocean on the fourth. Building here is a privilege. It is also, architecturally, a responsibility.
The Sunshine Beach House was designed for a family who had found a rare triangular site on a gently sloping hillside, protected behind a lush band of coastal forest. The site was unusual — its shape meant that conventional rectangular planning would waste significant area, and its topography meant that any design had to negotiate a meaningful change in level from street to garden. But unusual sites, in our experience, produce the most interesting architecture. The constraints become the opportunities.
The Site
The triangular geometry of the site became the generator of the plan. Rather than fighting it, we worked with it — allowing the angular boundaries to inform the shape of rooms, the direction of views, and the placement of the home on the land.
The hillside setting allowed us to access the home from the basement level, which sits at street level and provides both vehicle accommodation and an immediate sense of arrival — a sheltered, grounded entry that prepares you for the lightness of the levels above.
The site's position behind coastal forest was central to the design brief. Our clients wanted a home that felt connected to the landscape — open to the trees, the light filtering through the canopy, and the sound of the ocean — while also providing genuine protection from the salt air and wind that come with living this close to the coast.
Three Levels, One Sequence
The Sunshine Beach House is arranged across three levels, linked by a striking helical staircase — one of the most memorable architectural elements in the home. Fabricated by iFab Steel, the stair rises through a double-height void at the centre of the plan, drawing light from above and providing a visual anchor around which the levels are organised.
The basement level is grounded and solid — off-form concrete, stone, and a sense of arrival and shelter. It provides vehicle accommodation and sets the material tone for everything above.
The living level is the heart of the home — the covered deck, the kitchen, dining, and living areas, and the pool and outdoor living zones. This level is encircled by the deck, ensuring every interior space opens directly to the outside. The material palette shifts here from concrete and stone to timber and glass — lighter, warmer, more responsive to the coastal environment.
The upper level contains the sleeping areas, each oriented to capture morning light and filtered views through the coastal forest canopy. The abode timber cladding — chosen for its ability to weather gracefully in a salt-air environment — wraps the upper level, softening the home's profile against the trees and sky.
Materials for a Coastal Climate
Material selection for coastal architecture in Queensland requires a specific kind of rigour. Salt air is corrosive. The UV index is extreme. Humidity cycles are intense. Materials that perform beautifully in an inner-suburban Brisbane context will fail quickly within walking distance of the ocean.
The Sunshine Beach House is built from materials chosen for their performance as much as their beauty. Off-form concrete and stone at the lower level are effectively maintenance-free in a coastal environment. The weathering abode timber cladding on the upper level is one of the most durable external cladding materials available in Australia — it greys gracefully over time, requiring no maintenance and developing a patina that becomes more beautiful as the years pass.
The helical stair, the pool, and the external decking were all specified with salt-air durability as a primary criterion. The result is a home that will require very little ongoing maintenance — important for a family who intend to use it, not maintain it.
Published in The Local Project
The Sunshine Beach House was featured in The Local Project Issue No. 17 — one of Australia's most respected architecture and design publications. The feature brought the project to a national audience and reflected the quality of design and photography that Christopher Frederick Jones brought to documenting the completed home.
Publication in The Local Project is both a recognition of the project's quality and a reminder that great residential architecture in Queensland is increasingly attracting national and international attention.
Project: Sunshine Beach House, Sunshine Beach QLD
Type: New custom home
Size: 517sqm
Builder: GV Emmanuel Constructions
Structure: SCG Engineers
Photography: Christopher Frederick Jones
Published: The Local Project, Issue No. 17
→ View the full Sunshine Beach House portfolio
Planning a coastal home on the Sunshine Coast or Noosa? We'd love to hear about your project.
Contact Kelder Architects to discuss your project — we offer a complimentary initial consultation.
