our team

matthew carland - founder and director

Hola

I'm Matt, but mum prefers you probably call me Matthew! I was 20 when I began my life in the construction industry as an apprentice carpenter in 2010. 

Before that, I did the whole uni thing studying a Bachelor of Science and Nutrition. But it wasn't for me; whilst I love science and food, the combination wasn't working, and I wasn't happy and needed more. I am the type of person who is always thinking three steps ahead; however, it was the first time I got myself a little stuck! I had always been interested in building and architecture; with my dad being an electrician by trade and my brother in the early stages of his plumbing apprenticeship, I thought, let's do an apprenticeship in carpentry.

But I needed more than carpentry, and let's be honest, I wasn't the greatest carpenter. I knew my strength was building and management, and I recognised that I needed to do something about that. In the second year of my apprenticeship, I started going to night school studying Certificate IV in Building and Construction, back when it wasn't a 16-week course and real industry professionals taught you. But again, this wasn't enough for me, so once I completed this, I decided to do my Diploma in Building and Construction at Victoria University whilst working on the tools. 

Somewhere in all of this, I completed my apprenticeship. I never had much interest in working for anyone, so I decided to start my own business, which was the foundation of what Carland Constructions is today.

In 2016 I decided to apply for my licence at the VBA, and in early 2017 I sat my interview and passed with flying colours. I thought I had made it, but I knew this was just the start of a new chapter. From this moment, it has been a constant progression into being better. Working with various clients and building relationships with architects, engineers, and designers has been one enjoyable journey.

But I was only partially happy with where I was, and I knew I wanted more, but I didn't know what more looked like (there is a common theme here). Something was missing. I had read about this Passive House thing when I was an apprentice and had wanted to do the training, but as a young kid, I thought it was wiser to spend the cash on a trip overseas seemed like a better idea. In 2019, I enrolled to do the Passive House tradesperson training, which would forever change how I view the building industry.

And then, with the click of a finger, the building world was thrown upside down. It's the course that opened my eyes, challenged me and questioned everything I had ever done. I was on a mission to be a sustainable builder in Melbourne, but at this point, I never had any idea what this might look like. I was searching for that answer, and all I knew was this was the way forward.

So late in 2019, I decided to change the path of this business, which is probably the reason you're reading this now. We consciously decided to only take on high-performance and passive house projects from that point on. We wanted to stand for something and let our actions speak louder than words. We went full cold turkey on this rejecting any project that didn't fit our criteria. It was scary, there were a lot of unknowns, but I knew it would work, and it did. You can read more about that decision here.

Today, I am proud to say we are one of the leaders in this space. We have just completed our first certified Passivhaus in Melbourne and have a number of other Passivhaus and high performance in the construction stage. I am passionate about what we do and have never loved my job more. I know we have a lot to learn, but that's only because I want to continue evolving and improving.

But work is not my life. I have an incredible support network with some very close family and friends that are my rocks. I grew up in Williamstown, and I recently married my amazing wife, my best friend and the marketing wiz behind most of what we do! We are dog parents to our cheeky bernadoodle Charli who you will see in many of our posts or chewing on the leftover cardboard roll from a Proclima tape!

I love travelling, trying to get away each year somewhere new and in the process of designing our own home in Yarraville (yes, it's a Passivhaus). Stupidly, I still play football, but I love my sport. I have been punished as a Carlton supporter since I can remember, but please don't hold that against me! And then I enjoy whisky, especially if it's from Tasmania! 

Who knows what the future holds for me, but I promise I will be better with each project and continue to develop. I want to continue uncovering what sustainable means in the building industry and challenge what is possible in construction.

But that's enough from me; I will save the juicy stuff for a coffee catch-up or a chat on the phone.