Rebuilding a Papatoetoe childcare centre outdoor space
Great Bones, Real Problems
A tired, high-maintenance outdoor space rebuilt into a year-round play environment for tamariki. Designed, built, and delivered by Creo.
The Treehouse Middlemore Childcare Centre had a lot going for it. Mature trees, natural character, and a generous footprint right in the heart of Papatoetoe.
But the outdoor space had become a burden on the team. Drainage was failing. Surfacing was patchy and tired. The sandpits were hard to manage. And the layout made supervision harder than it should be.
Centre Director Ang and her team came to Creo with a simple ask. Fix it properly, once.
This is a strong example of what a properly planned outdoor transformation can deliver. A well-designed outdoor space does far more than refresh the look of a centre.
It cuts the daily maintenance load on staff, removes the drainage and safety headaches that creep in as surfaces and equipment age, and creates an environment that holds up to year-round use in all weather.
It supports better supervision, gives tamariki more variety in how they play and explore, and lifts the day-to-day experience for everyone who uses the space.
Centres that invest in a full outdoor rebuild rather than patch-and-repair fixes consistently see the benefits compound over time, in lower upkeep costs, in a space that continues to look and perform the way it did on day one, and in the confidence it gives parents walking through the gate.
Project snapshot
- Client: The Treehouse Middlemore Childcare Centre
- Location: Papatoetoe, Auckland
- Scope: Full outdoor transformation, design and build
- Surfacing: Pour'n'Play poured rubber, MulchSet, poured rubber bike track
- Equipment: Custom Robinia timber play piece, consolidated sandpit, water play feature
- Delivery: Single point of contact, fixed price, on time
- Circa Budget: $580K
One plan, one team, one fixed price
We took the whole project off their hands. Design, equipment, surfacing, civils, and installation, all delivered under a single project plan with one point of contact from start to finish.
That meant Ang’s team could keep running the centre while we got on with the build. No chasing subcontractors, no surprise costs, no juggling timelines.
Every surface, every layout decision, reworked
Pour’n’Play rubber safety surfacing and MulchSet were installed throughout, solving the drainage and maintenance issues in a single pass.
A poured rubber bike track gave the space flow and definition, and turned circulation into part of the play.
The sandpits were consolidated into one well-positioned area and paired with a water play feature.
A custom Robinia timber play piece anchors the new layout, with fresh seating and low-maintenance planting tying it all together.
Every choice was made with two things in mind. How tamariki use the space, and how the team has to maintain it.
The result: a space that works year-round
The new outdoor area drains properly, looks the part, and gives the team back hours every week that used to go on raking, repairs, and workarounds.
It’s safer to supervise. It’s easier to maintain. And the tamariki have a far richer environment to explore.
As Ang puts it, “It has been amazing to watch the progress of the outside and how smooth the process has been with them on site. The guys have been really helpful.”
Opening day: Morning tea and a waiata
On handover day, the tamariki performed a waiata for our crew and laid on a morning tea before running out to see the new playground for the first time.
It’s the part of the job that doesn’t show up in a brief, and it’s the part we’ll remember longest.
Connect with our team to design a vibrant playground, select top-tier equipment, explore safe surfacing, choose complete packages, or add shelters. Your ideas drive our creations.