Natalia Krysiak

A practicing architect and the founder of ‘Cities for Play’, Natalia Krysiak specialises in the design of child-oriented environments. Her area of research focuses on child-friendly cities and how the built environment can contribute to the health and wellbeing of children. In 2019 Natalia was awarded a Churchill Fellowship exploring best practice for designing child-friendly, high density neighbourhoods in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada and the UK. Her research investigates design interventions and policies that focus on neighbourhood liveability for children and parents in urban environments.

Previously, Natalia was awarded the 2017 David Lindner Research Prize by the Australian Institute of Architects. Her winning proposal explores the potential for high-density areas to provide environments for increased play and active mobility of children. Based on her research surrounding child-friendly cities, Natalia has founded ‘Cities for Play’ which aims to inspire and promote strategies for playful cities.

Natalia has been an invited speaker to various national and international conferences including the 2019 Design Forum in London, 2019 International Urban Design Conference in Sydney, 2018 UN Sustainable Development Conference in Singapore. She has also published articles in numerous publications, promoting the need to address children’s health and wellbeing in the planning and design of our cities.