The Graduate Interior Designer is making her Paralympic debut in Paris this week as a member of Australia’s table tennis squad.

Hayley Sands will represent Australia in three events: Women’s Class 2 singles (W2), Women’s Doubles (WW10) with Danni Di Torro, and Mixed Doubles (XR7) with Chris Addis.

“Hayley will bring the determination and talent we know so well in the studio onto the court,” shares the Woods Bagot team.

Before she left for Paris, the practice team sat down with Sands to hear about how her experiences have shaped her motivations as a designer, what working on projects like the New Women’s and Children’s hospital has been like and how her experiences in para-tennis translate to her career as an interior designer.

“I realised that the impact I wanted to make through design was at a larger, commercial scale – I’m more interested in designing a school than a private home,” says Sands in the interview.

“With this driver, I sought out work experience at some of the state’s larger practices but – at the time – hardly any were wheelchair accessible or weren’t accepting work experience after COVID-19.”
Sands says that she was drawn to design because of the lack of fully accessible spaces in the country.

“I was struggling to find fully accessible spaces and wanted to change that. During my tertiary study, I learnt about the type of impact an interior designer could make in the built environment, and also found a practical outlet for my creativity. I’ve always liked to paint and draw, so interior design seemed like the right career path in terms of creating change through creativity,” she says.

“As far as predictions for the industry go, I think we will see the demand for sustainable, Australian-made products grow and intensify. Supporting local makers and production – as well as simply making and purchasing good quality items that will stand the test of time – is the way forward for the industry.”

For Sands, working on the New Women’s and Children’s (nWCH) has been a full circle moment. 

“After spending almost a year in and out of the same hospital, it’s been great to contribute from the other side. There’s a certain perspective that I’ve gained through being a patient that has allowed me to understand aspects of the healthcare experience like patient flow, long-term care and connection between different offerings that I feel can improve the final design,” she says.

“The nWCH is a place with which many South Australian’s will have a generational relationship, I want the next generation’s experience to be as positive as my own generations.

“For me, healthcare design is about getting the little things right as much as the bigger picture. Design influences routine, function and a sense of belonging – all things that positively impact patients, carers and families in the healthcare space. I’ve been there, experienced it, and I’d like to make it better.”

Sands was introduced to table tennis at a Paralympics Australia Come and Try Day. She plays class two and is the only woman in Australia playing at that level. 

“I’ve been very lucky to have received a lot of support in the past seven years since I started playing – it’s been quite the turn around,” she says.

“As far as parallels with interior design and Para-table tennis go, I think that there’s a similarity in the commitment to staying up to date with upcoming trends and best practice. In para-table tennis, there’s always new serves and ways of doing things and I think that the desire to know ‘what’s next’ is the also true for interior designers – what’s best often evolves for both disciplines.”

Another way that interior design and table tennis converge for Sands is when she is travelling with the team. 

“This experience has really made me appreciate Australian design and accessibility standards and understand just how far thoughtful implementation goes towards making travel more helpful or a hotel stay more comfortable,” she says. 

“Rather than simply ticking a box, accessibility should be a global standard implemented to improve lives – interior design and table tennis allow me to see this in different ways.”