Regional Design, Bushfire Resilience, and Rainwater Harvesting with Sarah Lebner

Sarah Lebner is the founder and director of Cooee Architecture, a sustainable residential practice based in the alpine region of south-east Australia, where she designs energy-efficient, low-carbon homes for rural and regional communities. We discuss bushfire-resilient design beyond codes, including defensible sites and landscape strategies, and contrast Australian mandates for rainwater tanks and firefighting reserves with U.S. approaches. Chapters: 00:00 Start 02:49 Sarah’s Origin Story 06:23 Trust and Greenwashing 09:12 The 18 Intentions 11:56 Bushfire Resilient Design 16:31 Rainwater Rules and Storage 22:12 Energy Ratings and Retrofits 33:26 Sharing Knowledge at Scale 38:41 Better Team Collaboration 46:02 My First Architecture Job 48:51 Why It’s Called Cooee 50:13 Getting Back to Yourself 51:47 Closing Thoughts Follow Sarah: Website: https://www.cooeearchitecture.com.au/ Xera Plants on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cooee_architecture Follow Land Language: Land Language Website: https://www.landlanguage.org/ Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelandlanguage/ Connect with Us: Got questions? Ideas for future guests? DM us on Instagram or visit our website to share your thoughts. We're building this together. About Land Language: Land Language is a podcast for landscape professionals, plant lovers, and anyone who wants to understand what it really takes to build regeneratively. Hosted by contractor/designer Brit Sastrawidjaya and designer Bethany Rydmark, each episode brings you expert insights, practical tools, and honest conversations about transforming the landscape industry from the ground up. About Sarah: Sarah Lebner is the founder and director of Cooee Architecture, a sustainable residential practice based in the alpine region of south-east Australia, where she designs energy-efficient, low-carbon homes for rural and regional communities. Before returning to the area she grew up in, Sarah was Principal Architect at Light House Architecture and Science in Canberra, one of Australia's leading building science practices, where she spent years working at the intersection of passive design, thermal performance, and affordability. She is the author of 101 Things I Didn't Learn in Architecture School, a 2023 recipient of the Australian Institute of Architects Dulux Study Tour Prize, and the sole winner of the Institute's 2020 National Emerging Architect Prize. Alongside her architectural work, Sarah runs Cooee's scalable resources arm, creating affordable tools and guides to help everyday homeowners retrofit their homes for comfort and efficiency.