John Rochfort Park was a great spot in the heart of Kihikihi surrounded by residential housing. The brand-new playground will be a popular spot for the community and visitors, especially local Tamariki.”
Brad Ward | Community Services Manager | Waipa DC
An enchanting and inclusive nature play experience
In collaboration with Waipā District Council and Brodiehailwood, Playground Centre helped create a delightful, enchanted garden-themed play space for the Kihikihi community that ignites the imaginations of young and old alike. In line with the Council’s vision to create an inclusive nature play experience, the playground equipment blends with the park’s lush, wooded landscape and caters for the diverse needs of the local community. Maximising the play value by providing multiple ways for children of all ages and abilities, and their parents and caregivers, to engage in active, healthy, social play.
Collaboration
John Rochfort Park playground is one of many new playgrounds across the Waipā District Council redeveloped as part of its renewal and development programme. To help realise this vision, they sought the expertise of Brodiehailwood to design a dynamic play space and partnered with Playground Centre to bring it to life.
The playground artfully combines individual elements with communal pieces to create a space that is inclusive and interactive. Children have the freedom to choose to play on stand-alone equipment or engage in big adventures and collaborative play pursuits with their fellow park-goers on the more interactive play structures.
The natural space is an invitation for all to enjoy the great outdoors, with wide paths providing easy and inclusive access through and around the park and play area.
Solution
Opportunities for creative and adventurous play abound in the woodland wonderland.
The play space features multiple play zones, each incorporating equipment that has been customised to suit the playground’s theme and provide a fun-filled play experience.
Explorers can stimulate their senses with the Inclusive Spinning Bucket, watching the trees blur and the ground whizz beneath their feet. The high back and handgrips make for extra-safe fun, while the lowered front allows for easy access. The playground also invites imaginative, story-based play with a wealth of themed features including giant mushrooms and wood stepping logs to navigate between and among the play pieces.
The versatile and aesthetically pleasing hardwood equipment sits harmoniously within the site’s natural surrounds, while also offering a vibrant and inviting play space for junior and senior adventurers alike. The 4-Bay Timba Swing in its chunky wooden frame is the perfect place to fly high up to the treetops, or children can cloud-gaze with a friend or adult caregiver in the Flying Saucer Basket. And of course, no playground would be complete without a slide and balance bridge.
Strikingly stunning, the custom-designed treehouse and adventure course is meticulously themed and crafted to evoke the charm of both a bird house and a bug house. The treehouse’s exterior was customised with intricate panelling to resemble a birdhouse, adorned with large circular opening under the roof and a circular window on one side, inviting children into a playful woodland retreat. The small tower features a unique panel with random holes mimicking a bug house adding an element of discovery and imagination. These design elements combine to create a seamless connection to nature, encouraging climbing, scrambling, sliding, and bridge-balancing as children of all ages immerse themselves in an imaginative world of active play. A truly inclusive, multi-generational space, the playground’s design incorporates well-appointed tables and seating where adults can relax for a minute (or two) with a clear view of the playground action. And with natural shade and shelter provided by the mature trees, this wonderful community playground is destined to hold a special place in the hearts and minds of generations of local families.
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