A New Chapter For Play By Design

Play by Design has been a proud part of Australia’s play journey for decades, serving as the exclusive sales agent for KOMPAN in NSW and ACT since 2011. Our early playgrounds – many still standing today – are a testament to the lasting impact the team has made on outdoor play and fitness spaces across the country.

Now, a new chapter begins: In 2026, I plan to transition into retirement with gratitude and a legacy of delighted children.

It’s been the greatest adventure of my career to stand in an empty park and visualise the joy that would soon start there – a space where a simple mound becomes a mountain to conquer, and a ribbon of pathway, a track for new friendships. I will retire knowing that with every structure placed and every surface graded, I, along with my team helped craft countless little adventures and planted endless seeds of pure joy in our beloved green spaces.

My greatest source of inspiration has always been that raw, boundless energy and enthusiasm of children. It’s what drove the pursuit of truly innovative, nature-integrated play in our design work. The highlights of my career are forever linked to the amazing collaborations I’ve had with KOMPAN. Together, we pushed the boundaries, transforming their world-class equipment—from the towering GIANTS structures to the complex Corocord nets—into bespoke, site-specific masterpieces. Their dedication to research and play value gave me the perfect toolkit to realise grand visions and ensure that every part of a design was maximizing a child’s development through movement and imagination.

While I may no longer be drawing the plans, I’ll be out there, proudly watching a new generation of landscape architects keep the spirit of adventure alive. To all my colleagues and to every child who ever gave one of my designs a joyful test run: thank you for the memories! It truly has been an absolute blast. Now, go outside and play!