Embracing Change and Innovation: Insights from Sarah Lebner on the Future of Architecture

In this Architecture Social conversation, Stephen Drew speaks with architect Sarah Lebner, founder of Cooee Architecture, about practising architecture while building useful community resources, sustainable design, and the drive and persistence behind an unconventional career. Running around 50 minutes, the discussion moves from energy-efficient housing to early-career support and the realities of balancing practice, community work and family.

Who this is for

Students, graduates and early-career architectural professionals who want practical guidance on building a career, plus practitioners interested in sustainable, energy-efficient residential design and in building communities or resources alongside their day job.

Learning outcomes

1. You will be able to describe how a multidisciplinary model, combining architects and building scientists, supports energy-efficient housing.
2. You will be able to explain the gap between architectural education and practice, and ways to bridge it in your first years.
3. You will be able to identify practical habits, such as delegation, automation and templates, that improve efficiency in practice.
4. You will be able to weigh the value of paid coaching and community against free resources when developing your career.
5. You will be able to discuss how flexible and collaborative ways of working are reshaping architectural practice.
6. You will be able to reflect on how to talk openly and professionally about salary, fees and value.

From education to practice

Sarah describes the common experience of leaving university strong on design and critical thinking but light on practical, day-to-day skills. Much of what an architect needs is learned slowly on the job, project by project. Her book and community exist to speed that learning up and to help people tick off practical goals sooner.

A multidisciplinary model

At Lighthouse Architecture and Science in Canberra, Sarah worked as principal architect within a firm owned by a building scientist, where architects and scientists collaborate to optimise and test energy-efficient homes. The practice grew out of an earlier builder, scientist and architect model, later splitting from construction to focus on architecture and science.

Drive, persistence and efficiency

Asked how she balances practice, community, writing and family, Sarah points to a strong team at work and at home, and to being fiercely efficient: writing lists, automating what she can, using templates for regular content, and becoming decisive since having children. She stresses delegation, doing the work only you can do and passing on the rest.

The value of community and coaching

Sarah and Stephen discuss why paid communities and coaching can work where free content often does not. Paying for something tends to increase commitment and accountability, and a community sits usefully between one-to-one mentoring and self-teaching. Both note that participation is what makes these platforms valuable.

Talking about money

The conversation covers a reluctance in architecture to discuss money openly. Sarah and Stephen agree that treating salary, fees and value as normal professional topics is part of being a professional, and helps people make better career decisions.

The future of practice

Sarah hopes to see more flexible, collaborative practice, with generosity and knowledge-sharing replacing a guarded, expert-only culture. She notes that remote and hybrid working during the pandemic helped colleagues see each other as humans, which she believes supports parental flexibility and a healthier profession.

Career advice

A recurring theme is proactivity: getting involved, following through on ideas, and doing a little more than the people around you. Sarah reflects that seeking help to improve a CV, portfolio or soft skills is a sign of resourcefulness, not weakness.

Key terms

• Operational carbon: the energy a building uses in day-to-day running, reduced through efficient design and renewable generation.
• Embodied carbon: the carbon associated with materials and construction, reduced by using fewer, lower-carbon and recycled materials.
• Multidisciplinary practice: a firm combining different disciplines, here architects and building scientists, to test and optimise design.

Reflective prompts for your CPD record

1. Which practical skills did you learn on the job rather than in education, and how could you help someone earlier in their career learn them faster?
2. Where could delegation, automation or templates free up time in your own work?
3. How comfortable are you discussing salary, fees and value, and what would make those conversations easier?

About the guest

Sarah Lebner is a regional Australian architect and founder of Cooee Architecture, a practice focused on low-carbon and zero-carbon homes across the Victorian High Country and NSW Snowy Mountains. She is the author of "101 Things I Didn't Learn in Architecture School" and the creator of My First Architecture Job and The Architect Project. She was awarded the Australian Institute of Architects' National Emerging Architect Prize.