Rethinking Design, Systems & the Future of Materials with Sarah D'Sylva from Hyloh | #18

Send us Fan MailWhat if the issue isn’t the material itself, but the system wrapped around it?In this conversation, we jump straight into the uncomfortable truth that there are no sustainable materials – only better choices made in context. Joining us is designer and Halo co-founder Sarah de Silva, as we unpack how coatings, building codes, logistics, incentives and infrastructure can quickly turn a ‘green’ option into a risky one. We explore how designers and decision-makers can find their way back to integrity, through clear end-of-life thinking, transparency and honest trade-offs.We move beyond slogans and into what actually works. Think material passports that track what things are made of and where they’ve been. Think facade-as-a-service and take-back models that plan for recovery from day one. Think internal marketplaces that keep fit-out and retail materials circulating rather than sending them to landfill. We dig into why paper-versus-plastic isn’t a morality tale, when mono-material PET can outperform fibre, and why local infrastructure often decides the real-world outcome.Place matters, and Australia has a rare opportunity right now. We talk bioregional manufacturing, smarter import standards, and pairing Indigenous knowledge with processing close to feedstocks. From fast-growing kelp to hemp, we highlight materials with outsized potential when paired with circular systems, and get real about what actually drives change within organisations: risk, talent and resilience.If you’re working in circular design, packaging, architecture or supply chains, this conversation offers a grounded path from theory to practice. Give it a listen, share it with someone who writes specs, and tell us the one barrier you’d love to see removed next.Keen to see more about Hyloh? WebsiteMaterials Encyclopaedia BookSarah's LinkedInKeep Following the PatternSam's InstagramSubstackCoLabs CoLabs NewsletterThis is an evolving experiment.The Strange Attractor is produced by Ecotone Studio — a creative practice exploring the fertile edge where art, science, technology and philosophy meet.Like the ecosystems we are a part of, this project is designed to evolve. Every conversation changes the next one.If there’s a question you’d like us to explore, a guest we should invite, or a theme you think deserves more attention, drop us a line. We’re especially interested in the spaces between disciplines—the ecotones where unexpected ideas emerge. If you’re building something thoughtful, beautiful or regenerative, or simply wrestling with questions that matter, we’d love to hear from you. Thanks for listening. Until next time — stay curious.