Taisiia Kolisnyk chose to study architecture so she could combine her love of art and logic.
“I wanted something that could combine the creative part and the hard, pragmatic, logical part, because when I grew up, I was really artsy and I am into music, painting, photography, and all kinds of things," she said. "My mom is a math teacher and my dad is an engineer and, before college, I could never think of a good fit for myself to exercise both parts of my personality.
“It gives me so much fulfillment and purpose to know I’ll be making a difference in the world when I’m designing something," she said. "It means a lot to me as someone who wants to create and who is also logical and an organized step-by-step kind of person.”
Studying Architecture & Sustainability
While studying architecture, Taisiia has found her niche in sustainability. As part of the ACSA 2020 Housing Competition, HERE & NOW: A House for the 21st Century, she was challenged to design a sustainable townhouse for a large family in San Francisco.
“I got really inspired by this idea of ‘Let’s put a big family in a dense, urban environment. Let’s bring that American dream and that traditional neighborhood with a backyard feel but reorganize it completely and put it in the city so that we can have healthy family dynamics but also get out there and reach out to the community,’” she said.
Because of this inspiration, she has decided that she would like to open her own firm, describing, “a small, independent firm that focuses on sustainability and incorporating a lot of landscaping — possibly permaculture — into everyday design of both residential and commercial projects."
"The idea is to kind of go back to the beginning where we were connected with nature so much but to do it in a modern way. Like, you can still have a smart house but it’s also a house that is green and sustainable and good for our health and for the environment in general.”
Discovering New People & Places
While in the architecture program, Taisiia was part of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS), which gave her the chance to travel to Chicago for the annual NOMAS competition.
“Our school is different,” she said. “ With the quality of our work, we’re really on the same level as the bigger, ivy league schools. That’s what I love the most. That it doesn’t have to be a big city or a big name. What matters is what you’re doing personally, and I think that everybody is doing their best and the professors are doing a good job to bring out those qualities.
“There are so many youthful and energetic people who want to work and make a difference and that truly inspires me," she said. "From all the students in my studios, I see how dedicated they are, how responsible they are, how really driven they are to do this, to our professors who all have completely different backgrounds. It all comes together in this wonderful place.”
At UL Lafayette, Taisiia found her people.
“I got to meet my best friends in these classes and have conversations and receive support," she said. "We laugh together, we cry together, we’ve had all-nighters. It’s been a crazy journey but it's something that I would never exchange for anything.
“I feel really cared for and really accepted. I feel like I found my niche and it’s all thanks to the people,” she said.
And she found her fire.
“I feel like when I get out of school and go to a work environment I can carry that fire of everything that I’ve learned about motivated design, about really being invested in a project, that it’s not just about money or economic success or anything else, it’s something that I truly want to do,” she said.
