12:00a.m. 27th August 2008

Petrina and Pat Ryan of Ryan Designer Homes outside their latest award-winning home in Pelican Waters. Photo: Michaela O'Neill/177793

When New Zealand builder Pat Ryan returned home after a holiday in Noosa in 1995, he told his wife Petrina they were coming back to retire on the Sunshine Coast.

The couple did move here to live four years later, but luckily for the building industry and a growing number of happy home owners, retirement has been the furthest thing from Pat’s mind.

What has been occupying his thoughts has been how to continue on the innovative path Ryan Designer Homes has been following that has just led to a swag of industry awards.

The company has just taken out the best display home and best display home over $700,000 in the Sunshine Coast and Wide Bay Housing Industry Association awards, as well as the best display home over $600,000 in the regional Master Builders Association awards.

The awards were for a stunning two-level waterfront home at Pelican Waters that incorporates the company’s innovative ‘Cubism’ design features.

Pat said the design achieved “an extraordinary, floating illusion throughout the house” by the use of “clever materials and strategically-placed windows to create a stunning and seamless effect”.

“People unfailingly comment on the architectural style,” he said. “We felt we were in with a chance because the public feedback at the display home had been excellent.”

The 52-year-old said while winning the awards were a fantastic endorsement of the company’s workmanship and commitment, it wasn’t what drove him.

“I’ve built about 400 homes in my career, and I still get that buzz out of walking through the finished product with a client at handover. That’s what gives you the satisfaction,” he said.

“At the end of the day the client is the client and you’ve got to present what they want, not what we want them to have.”

The home will now join a host of other regional award winners from the Sunshine Coast in the state finals, an arena that has delivered significant success for Coast builders in recent years.

Pat said he felt it was the constant drive to produce better outcomes that had led to that success.

“I genuinely believe the calibre of builders here is better than the rest of Australia.

“There’s no doubt we punch well above our weight at both state and national level,” he said.

“I know we’re continually looking to improve our product and I don’t think a lot of builders here realise how far ahead we are of the rest of Australia in both design and construction.”

Pat said he believed it was that search for excellence that had helped the company overcome the skills shortage that had affected the industry in recent years.

“If you set the standard high, you find contractors want to be involved ... some of our contractors have been with us from day one,” he said.

And as long as Pat maintains his passion, you can expect them to stay on for a lot longer.

“At the end of the day, I just love building homes ... and the Sunshine Coast is a great place to do that.”