We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nya Woodley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nya below.

Nya, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?

Not everyone will have a legacy, and I am now finding, you just do not know what it would be as time goes by, it may change serval times, however what those near you will always know and it will stay constant, is how you treat people.

Thank you for having me share my thoughts again. I love to produce art, but art is a thing you have to set the environment in which it can happen. Another thing I love to do is find creative ways to solve problems. This usually is not planned it can happen by accident or exploring a thought I had years ago. To wrap up this question, I want to be known as a positive person that produce art, whether it be the art of expansive conversations, the art of expressing beauty in architecture that respects nature, or the art of merging colors together on canvas.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am still working towards many things. I really have not “arrived” as they say. I still work for a company while I pursue something more. Now what is the something more you might ask? I was moved by the devastation of a hurricane that destroyed most of Carriacou, back in June of this year 2024. I decided to post about the benefits of earth sheltered homes on my Instagram page by remixing a video on the topic and boom it went viral. I was blown away by how people continue to respond to the topic. Many gave so many positive responses while others kept their hope alive that they could one day have a home like that. Since then, I continued to post and revive this style of architecture from the 70s.
My Instagram page, all things architectural, really showcased the desire I have to solve the problems of sustainable architecture especially in the Caribbean. This topic is actually up my alley as I have a background in architecture, wielding a degree in architecture and a few years of experience. Three years ago, I realized sitting in a cubicle drafting was not going to be my life. I decided to make a detour and come back to it in a different way. Some will say, this is the way to come back to architecture, as in a consultancy capacity.
Life is not only about the seriousness of it all. Art brings some pause in my life. I hope you enjoyed the little nuggets of art I produce as you will see in the pictures. If you want to have some timeless pieces produced, I do commissioned art. You can reach me via email, [email protected], with subject line, Commission art. Looking forward to that.
Today, I have been formalizing some new plans to really put all of this in action, that is, architectural consultancy, earth sheltered construction and later progressing my art in a meaningful way. Let’s say this is my first step. I decided on making the move back to the Caribbean, taking the idea of earth sheltered construction as a business plan there. It will take some funding and so I decided to put together a crowdfunding. In this crowdfunding I hope to build a mini mart/ greengrocer in the style of an earth sheltered construction. One by one share the desire and soon the entire island will be able to survive an epic hurricane. You can find out more about it when you visit, gofundme, type in helpnyabuild. Thank you in advance!

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I feel like time is upon us. It is something everyone somehow thing we have plenty of, but we really do not. I really do not know what is driving my urgency to even do a crowdfunding. Hey, I say why not.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I had to pivot to keep hope alive. I was doing my thing living in the big city and working at a mid-size architecture firm, could not afford a place to stay on my own and hated the cold. I was so out of it. I could not accept that this was my life. I decided to move and fast forward to today. Changed industry temporarily or permanently, who knows… but that was my biggest pivot to this day. I will continue on my story and see what else is next. The next leg is to have financial stability.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gofund.me/bada39d3
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allthingsarchitectural

Image Credits

Book in picture credit: Earth Sheltered Homes, Plans and Designs by Underground Space Center University of Minnesota.
Painting in picture credit: Painting of, picture of, house designed by architects Olson Kundig architects. (my favorite architecture firm)