September 22, 2021

Sustainable Homes Challenge: Meet Tyla

Hi, I am Tyla, and I am currently studying a double degree in Architectural and Civil Engineering at University of Wollongong. Through my love of design and mechanics I have found myself drawn to sustainable technologies and architecture, how they impact people’s lives and the environment for the better in such creative and usually subtle ways. This interest has led to amazing experiences such as the Sustainable Homes Challenge and hopefully many more to come.

I spend most of my time outdoors, usually surfing, riding or camping. Being in nature and living amongst the trees is something that always seems to bring a calmness of mind which I find inspires me to find ways people can integrate this feeling into everyday living. But it’s not as simple as putting a tree in your living room and getting that sense of nature. One way I have found this way of being connected to the environment is by caring for it. It’s this notion of caring for it that has directed me towards sustainable living, particularly passive living and zero-net energy houses. This non-direct form of caring for the environment is one that has captivated me and inspired me to find ways of promoting this way of living. Learning about new passive technologies, recycled materials and low impact living while living full lives and sharing it with the community has driven me towards this challenge. I see it as a stepping stone in ‘normalising’ sustainable buildings and exploring the possibilities of it being integrated into everyday life on the domestic level.

Through this challenge I am hoping to gain experiences that will inspire greater change in the future. This is a stepping stone for me into exploring the world of sustainable design through real world industry partners and research institutions. Collaborating with equally driven people, I hope that this challenge will produce inventive new ideas which will encourage even groups as small as this to take it further into the world and share what they (I) have learnt with others as well as doing something that simultaneously benefits the immediate community.

The most enjoyable thing I love exploring each week through the modules are the real-world projects and examples of the inspiring work already being seen today. Seeing how the topics of sustainable design is being implemented in so many different ways creates a range of other ideas and possibilities that can be further explored. However, some of the best learning I have enjoyed is being connected with the likeminded yet diverse people of my team and neighbouring teams who come together with so many unique ideas and experiences. It’s this collaboration of different opinions that has shown me a wider horizon of where this push for sustainable design can take us, even to the level of an individual, which is the most critical in initiating change within society.