creospace.co.nzPortfolioSeptember2022 The storyteller series BuildersPlaygroundThe
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Sotooarethestoriessurroundingaplaygroundvitalforinspiringthedesign.Thisishowaplayspacecanstaytruetotheuniquelocalhistoryandcommunitywhilecreatingsomethingnew,anarrativeofenergyandcreativity–onethatwillechothroughthegenerationstocome.
Theplaygroundiswhereadventureismade,wherebiographybegins,wherelegendsgrow,wheredramaandcomedyandactioncancombine–alloftenwithinthosefleetingmomentsofamorningteabreak.Ifeveryspacetellsastory,thenthetalescreatedwithinaplayspacewillspeakofmultitudes.Itwillcontainvolumes.
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It’s not just the aesthetic that was important. The playground bridge can be clambered over and monkeyed below and is clearly a hit with the town’s kids, (who provided feedback during the design phase). These locals were also keen on the scooter trail that winds around the park and the surfacing “ ”
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bridgeismanner,Ineveryconceivablethefamilylinktoourpast,toourfuture.
Alex Haley Spanning the Clutha with its rust red colouring, Clyde’s bridge is an icon that is loved by residents young and old. It made sense a replica bridge would make the perfect centrepiece when designing an upgrade to the new River Park playground.
Clyde River ClydePlayground,Park
‘river’, which adds some on-theme colour. The playground also has natural features taken from and inspired by the surrounding environment. Balance beams and seating elements are formed by large rocks and recycled railway sleepers, another reminder of the rich history of the area. The considered, cohesive result is now enjoyed as a great destination for fun-filled family afternoons in the creospace.co.nz/clydesun.
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Clyde River ClydePlayground,Park The Playground Builders
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Circa: $230,000 creospacWe.co.nzcreospace.co.nz
11 All construction equipment and safety fences are removed to reveal the finished playground.
05 After a paint job, the bridge pieces are bound together to form the whole structure. 06 The bridge makes its journey down the country to the final destination in Clyde.
03 A 3D model is developed to assist the bridge’s construction.
01
10 All other areas of the playground are worked on to completion.
Clyde River Park playground’s central play piece is a red bridge. It’s a replica of the nearby historic Clyde River bridge which is an iconic landmark in Central Otago. Designing, building, and installing the replica bridge was an exciting challenge for the Creo team who relish any opportunity to tell their client’s stories through their work. On these pages, we go on a pictorial journey through the process of creating the bridge starting with basic concept sketches and ending with the bridge as the centrepiece of the new playground.
02
07 Civil work readies the site where the bridge is to be placed. 08 An install team finalises the bridge’s position. 09 Once installed, the surfacing is completed.
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01 A conceptual sketch starts our process. 02 A concept design was drawn based on the client’s brief and concept sketches.
Abridge’sstory.
04 Bridge items are made up and laid out to understand the individual elements.
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The playground’s popularity suits holiday park co-owner Rochelle Paychers perfectly. “We know if kids are kept happy on holiday then mum, dad, grandparents are really happy as well,” she says. A lot of thought went into the overall area. The brief was for an inclusive space that encouraged physical play and community connections, blending into the beautiful surrounding while being able to withstand the extreme local weather conditions. And, as holiday stories in the ‘adventure capital of the world’ often include chapters on accidents and crutches, the space needed to be easily accessible to convalescing adult and child creospace.co.nz/driftawayalike.
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Tim Vine Never is it as important to ‘live in the now’ as it is when you’re on holiday. And never is living in the now so easy as it is for children. It’s why the holiday park playground at Driftaway Queenstown is so well-loved. Children don’t want to leave and caregivers can relax in the outdoor cooking and seating area and take in the incredible views too.
what,holiday.I’vejustbeenonaonce-in-a-lifetimeI’lltellyouneveragain.
QueenstownHolidayDriftawayPark, creospace.co.nz
QueenstownHolidayDriftawayPark, The Playground Builders
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Circa:Circa:$250,000 $150,000 creospace.co.nz
Shoreland Park, Wellington
The community had fond memories of some of the existing play structures, particularly the blue snail structure and long slide. These were given new life, the slide given an added tower structure with a lifeguard lookout aesthetic and the snail refurbished and given pride of place in the new park. With a careful mix of natural turf and Pour’n’Play surfacing tying everything together the play space is now perfect for small swashbucklers to roll in barefoot and salty from the beach, ready for their next creospace.co.nz/shorelandadventure.
Jacques Yves Cousteau Mysterious rock pools and clamber-ready rocks undoubtedly make the beach nature’s playground.
Two climbing platforms with round windows and ship decks provide plenty of potential pirate play, each designed to reference the wreck of the HMNZS Wellington, which is located out in the bay. “ ”
The sea, once
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It made sense the upgraded Wellington space at Shoreland Park was designed as an extension of the shoreline. Here the colour palette of sand and surf, careful use of natural materials, and a subtle nautical theme all combine to fit seamlessly within the wider environment.
itcastsitsspell,holdsoneinitsnetofwonderforever.
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Shoreland
Park, Wellington The Playground Builders
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Circa: $470,000 creospace.co.nz
Vincent Van Gogh With this brand-new early learning centre in Papatoetoe came a fresh opportunity to create a unique play area reflecting the strength, diversity and stories from the surrounding neighbourhood. A pintsized whare and a shaded fale spark imaginative games and provide places to rest, with references to the many cultures of the children who come here to spend their days at play. As this centre caters to a wide range of ages the design and equipment needed to entice both the youngest and the oldest to engage with the space.
The space includes a mound for climbing up and rolling down, with climbing holds and a slide; a soft-surfaced open play area with decorative shapes to inspire the imagination (as well as absolute necessities like a sandpit and swings). All are contained under a wide-spanning sunshade to keep children cool as they meet up, make plans and, most importantly, play with equal parts creativity and energy – their collection of small delights within the space combining to create some great enduring
PapatoetoeKids,CommunityECE,
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together.thingsGreatthingsaredonebyaseriesofsmallbrought
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Circa: $220,000 creospace.co.nz
Existing fixed elements and natural assets were incorporated into a new concept, one that retained a lush “ ”
everythingyouLookdeepintonature,andthenwillunderstandbetter.
naturalistic feel without compromising safety, usability, and flexibility. The new space now provides a wide range of different play types, with an interactive mud kitchen, large sandpit, balancing logs, a water-rock play area and little huts. There’s also a big focus on sensory play elements and children develop confidence and new skills as they interact with the various textures within the natural plantings, turf, sand, water, and sleepers embedded in the creospace.co.nz/kelburnpreschoolpathways.
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Albert Einstein Good playground design is about knowing how nature and nurture can combine to get the most from a specific space. It must deliver a safe but challenging environment - one that inspires the fresh growth of new ideas. Sometimes it is a matter of rigorously controlling each element. In others it’s more about getting out of the way of nature’s good work. At the Kelburn Pre-School, design focused on delivering the best of both worlds.
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Circa: $130,000 creospace.co.nz
For a school that provides a full educational experience, from preschool through to Year 13, a road is an apt symbol for the journey students take. At Kristin School Kindergarten, this road is expressed quite literally, the street form winding around the playground, complete with signs and centre lines, providing a zoom-able loop to scoot and bike and run without the fear of a grazed knee.
Willie Nelson
For these little ones at the beginning of their journey, the road to a great education sure looks like a lot of creospace.co.nz/kristinfun. “ ”
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onJustOntheroadagain.can’twaittogettheroadagain.
Aside from the road, under-foot surfaces were upgraded all over the park-like grounds of the kindergarten, with turf areas in quiet zones where arts and crafts are offered, and durable fall-proof surfacing under refurbished playground structures.
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Kristin AucklandKindergarten,School The Playground Builders
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Circa: $750,000 creospace.co.nz
Don’tjudgeeachdaybytheharvestyoureapbutbytheseedsthatyouplant.
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Robert Louis Stevenson They’re a bunch of good apples at Pomaria School. And good apples deserve great play spaces. Located in an area that used to be taken up by orchards, this well-established West Auckland school saw an opportunity to create an enduring apple theme in their new playground. Design focused on a colour palette that makes use of Royal Gala red and Granny Smith green. With fruit-like mounds to bounce off and climb over, and a striking blue river pattern reflecting the nearby Whau “ ”
AucklandSchool,Pomaria
River and Waikumete Inlet, the playground has both a strong sense of place and an everyday usability. To ensure there is equipment and areas to challenge and entice students of all ages the school included a cycling track, running track, and a unique collection of climbing frames, tunnels, slides, and spinners. With a space like this, there are bound to be some happy smiles and rosy cheeks at lunchtime. creospace.co.nz/pomaria
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AucklandSchool,Pomaria
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Circa: $400,000 creospace.co.nz
For new entrants, school can seem like a daunting place full of bigger bolder children. It is why Prospect School decided to combine the renovation of new entrance classrooms with a play space designed especially for their youngest and smallest students. Creating a sense of belonging was a priority. The playground was designed to tie in with the school’s focus on atua – the Māori gods connecting both with the children and a variety of cultures in the wider community. A carved wooden pou whenua acts as a “ ”
protective place marker for the area, while the ground is marked with a maze-like pattern representing the movement of other atua, such as Tāwhirimātea, the god of the weather. Here imaginative play is encouraged with a small-scale wooden hut and logs. Other necessities were designed with a new twist, including the mound and slide, balancing pods, and a sensory activity wall. To help bring learning outdoors and into nature, a shaded gathering space also connects with the creospace.co.nz/prospectclassrooms.
AucklandSchool,Prospect
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Mā te kimi ka kite, Mā te kite ka mōhio, Mā te mōhio ka mārama.
Popular whakatauki
“Seek and discover. Discover and know. Know and become enlightened.”
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AucklandSchool,Prospect
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Circa: $100,000 creospace.co.nz
creospace.co.nz/stannes ourWeshapebuildings;thereaftertheyshapeus.
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on specific equipment) while also working as an outdoor learning resource. Unconstrained play was a big focus too, the design team and school working closely together to ensure a result that was as adaptable as it was beautiful and durable. The play space now inspires creative journeys and play experiences that travel beyond the physical landscape and into the worlds of imagination, shaping the futures of all the creative minds within it.
Winston Churchill While space might be at a premium in the heart of Wellington, creativity is certainly not. At St Anne’s a small area has been transformed into a dynamic, thriving play space, the inner-city school now offering adaptable shapes and unique style for energetic students. The brief was for something “just a bit different” to make the most of the available area. The school wanted a space that would encourage communal play (rather than having children wait for turns “ ”
St WellingtonSchool,Anne’s
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St WellingtonSchool,Anne’s
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St WellingtonSchool,Anne’s
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Circa: $90,000 creospace.co.nz
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Helen Keller
beautifulthingsintheworldcannotbeseenoreventouched-theymustbefeltwiththeheart.
full of personality (much like the students who would use the area). The resultant space is both a celebration of the school and the wider world around it. Travelling through this environment now takes in a wide array of landscapes and experiences. Children may be strolling through the playground. But so too are they walking through the solar system on their way to the Tamaki River, travelling on to the Tamaki basin, trekking over the mountains, striding across volcanic creospace.co.nz/sylviaparkfields.
The best and most
Maximising the available landscape and accurately reflecting the diversity, creativity and vibrancy of the school population was an unwavering focus for Sylvia Park School in their playground development. Previously used as a car park, there is now nothing middle-of-the-road about this space. Working closely with the school the initial vision was diligently crafted and expertly scoped. The final concept was bright, colourful, unique, and “ ”
Sylvia AucklandSchool,Park
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Circa: $380,000 creospace.co.nz
experiences. It’s why there are no traditional playground structures to be found here. At Tirimoana fixed pieces become anything students want them to be. With no ‘proper’ way of playing there are no limits to what they can envision and achieve within the new space. As the students explain, the new area is about far more than seats and shapes.
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AucklandSchool,Tirimoana
Instead, there are spaceships and islands to be found, jails and hideouts to negotiate, wondrous new places to play within each and every day.
Eartha Kitt Yes, there were the standard things to get right when scoping, designing, and constructing the new playground at Tirimoana Primary School. Any new area needed to be low maintenance and usable no matter the weather. So too did it need to be adaptable for outdoor classroom learning. However, the primary focus was on how the design and construction of the new space could generate unprescribed play and stoke imaginative shared “ ”
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gowhereturningTheriverisconstantlyandbendingandyouneverknowit’sgoingtoandwhereyou’llwindup.
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AucklandSchool,Tirimoana The Playground Builders
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Circa: $150,000 creospace.co.nz
AMYNESTOR KELVIN BRUCESHANEANGELOLUISAInstallerROB Landscape Architect InstallerMarketing Team Leader Graphic Designer Marketing Assistant Site Manager Playground CarpenterOperations Team Leader ConsultantInstaller Site Manager Installer MISILEIJON TALITHA KELVIN CALLUM DesignLARISSATeamLead KEITH Regional Project ManagerInstallerFYNN SiteMATTManager Meet Our Team Our people are at the heart of our company. The Playground Builders
MAXGREGOR MIKEBEN GLEN JOSE KEVIN VAA ANDY JACOB IAN SHANNON DOM Warehouse ManagerProduction and R&D Site ManagerRICARDOInstaller Site Team Leader National Construction ManagerPlayground Consultant Regional Project Manager Projects Coordinator Site Team Leader InstallerALVIN SUMMER DEO Consultant 3D Modeller General Manager Playground Carpenter Production Team Leader Installer SARAHGERSON ConsultantInstaller VideographerOLLIE creospace.co.nz
story?yourWhat’s The Playground Builders
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In our work with schools and ECEs, councils and community boards, children, families, and communities, we are proud to bring the stories of New Zealand to life. If you’d like to discover how we can bring yours to life in a beautiful, adaptable, durable, and altogether exceptional play space, get in touch today. To book a meeting, simply give us a call on 0800 000 334.
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