SECTOR: SCHOOL
“Our new space provides a good blend of physical challenge and sensory exploration. It has transformed a very old and tired playground into a high-energy hub for our Tamariki. We’ve noticed a significant increase in collaborative play; the layout naturally encourages children to negotiate and work together rather than just playing side-by-side.”
We loved working with Oratia District School to design and deliver a nature-inspired school playground that feels alive, inviting, and full of possibility for their middle school students. From the outset, we had a shared goal to transform an under-utilised outdoor space into a natural playground that reflects the school’s values, culture, and its unique landscape within the Waitakere Ranges in Auckland. The brief was clear: create a playground where tamariki can climb, explore, and play collaboratively, while also offering calm, quiet spaces for rest and sensory play.
Collaboration with the school was central throughout the playground design process. Together we developed a nature-inspired concept that includes timber climbing structures, a mound with tunnel, winding natural pathways, planted reflection zones, and cultural play features such as a waka and whare. Oratia District School’s direct input through annotated plans and ongoing feedback helped ensure the playground design supported both learning outcomes and everyday student use, strengthening engagement, movement, and social interaction.
“The design phase was impressively collaborative and visionary. Playscape truly listened to our goals and the specific needs of our landscape. They balanced our ‘wish list’ with safety requirements and budget constraints, turning ideas into a beautiful, functional plan.” – Katherine Goldsmith, Deputy Principal
Construction was carefully managed around school operations, with a strong focus on safe playground installation and minimal disruption to learning. Despite weather delays, the team adapted quickly to maintain momentum and quality delivery. Every element was built with durability and long-term performance in mind, ensuring a robust, low-maintenance school playground environment.
The result has been well-received from the community and has quickly become the heart of the middle school outdoor learning environment. Students are now more engaged in active, collaborative play, using climbing, balancing, and exploratory movement to interact with the space.
The opening and blessing ceremony was a meaningful milestone for the school community, celebrating the completion of a bespoke playground design and build that will continue to evolve as students interact with it every day.
“It was a pleasure working collaboratively with Playscape. They clearly take pride in creating spaces that foster growth and joy and we couldn’t recommend them more highly.” – Katherine Goldsmith, Deputy Principal