HISTORY
Darren White is the principal of Baseplate and has been involved in the skateboarding community for over thirty years, as both a skateboarder and skatepark designer. From a young age, Darren informally designed and created skateboard ramps and proceeded to build upon this basic level in later years.
From 1994 -1997, Darren helped design, build and manage Victoria’s only indoor skate facility, The Shed, in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. His length of service with The Shed required Darren to liaise with local councils, user groups, landscape architects and skateboard associations to assist in the creation of a diverse range of skateparks. As a result, Darren established a widespread network of clients, users, designers and builders.
The need to produce plans (to build ramps at The Shed) led Darren towards a Diploma of Building Design and Drafting, which he completed in 1999. He became a fully qualified Building Designer and Registered Building Practitioner working on new homes, extensions, renovations, unit developments, warehouse conversions and commercial / industrial buildings with Village Drafting & Design and Bill Jacobs Building Design.
Darren is a member of Design Matters National (formerly Building Designers Association of Victoria) and undertakes various Continuing Professional Development (CPD) seminars and training series to increase his knowledge and stay up to date with the latest information.
Darren’s experience at a grass-roots level coupled with formal design and drafting qualifications inspired the creation of Baseplate in 2000 - a design company that is uniquely positioned to offer clients a professional, specialist design service while maintaining an intimate knowledge of users needs.
He was approached by Convic to join the design team in 2002 and over a period of ten years, Darren worked with a broad range of clients in Australia and overseas, delivering some of the most innovative national and international skatepark designs that maximise function and minimise safety concerns.
Key projects included the world’s largest skatepark in Shanghai, China, Australia’s largest skatepark in Belconnen (ACT), Singapore’s National Extreme Sports Facility and four skateparks in Hong Kong.
In 2012, Baseplate once again became the outlet for Darren to deliver his skatepark designs and continue his involvement in the building design industry.
Collaboration is a strong focus for Darren as he works with several other companies on a range of projects. His involvement varies – design lead, collaborative design, design review, 3D modelling and visualisation, planning permits, building permits, construction documentation, contract administration, site inspections and skatepark assessments. Always offering independent professional advice on the best outcome for each project.
Darren White has the most extensive skatepark design experience in Australia. Through his tireless focus and energy, he has created over 500 skateparks here, and overseas.
Over the years, Darren has undertaken a wide range of public consultations to listen and respond to community concerns and needs for their skateparks. This has taken him to cities and remote communities around Australia, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore.
He has been instrumental in developing the structural designs for skateparks that are now adopted as industry standard across Australia.
A highly proficient street, bowl and vert skateboarder, Darren understands the specific requirements of local users, no matter their skill level or preferred terrain.
He regularly skates the parks he has designed to continue to test and improve his skills in both skateboarding and skatepark design.