Our Team

Larissa has over 13 years’ experience as a landscape architect, working on a wide range of projects. At Creo she specialises in child-focused outdoor environments, ranging from Early Childhood and School play spaces through to Council parks. She has an interest in creating high-value play areas and an ability to work at all project stages including master planning, concept design, conceptual design, and detail design, tendering and design oversight during construction. Larissa is the mother of two boys and spends a lot of time visiting new play spaces and the outdoors.

Mike has been dreaming up and building play spaces since he was 5 years old, albeit small projects for himself and his kids. It was only after taking on the Creo Operations Team Leader role that he was able to do it on a grand scale. In recent years, Mike has been involved in many large projects including Anderson Park in Napier and Royal Reserve in Auckland. Drawing on his varied experience in building, concrete work, hard and soft landscaping, site management and project management – he has been able to establish a reputation for well-run job sites and excellent communication.

Craig has spent 17 years in the civil construction industry, working in the landscaping sector. He has hands-on and managerial experience in hard and soft landscaping, concrete and paving construction, and the operation of landscape-based plant, equipment and machinery. His management skills are extensive and have been honed over the past decade of project managing large-scale projects from ‘concept to completion’. Craig has the proven ability to lead site teams, manage the programme, manage subcontractors, forecast project cashflow, and work with local stakeholders. He has a clear understanding of NZS 3910:2003 Conditions of Contract.

Ben joined Creo in 2018 in the client-facing, Playspace Consultant, role. Since then, he has helped many Creo customers through the playspace ‘design and build’ journey, delivering some of New Zealand’s most exciting playground projects. His favourite aspect of working in this role is seeing the passion and excitement build in people as their playspace comes to life. As Ben puts it, “The sheer variety of size, palate, budget, theme and setting that each playspace requires makes every project special. There is no such thing as a ‘copy and paste’ project, so the challenge to create something distinctive each time is hugely motivating. I love working with our clients through the design journey and understanding exactly what their vision is and delivering on it. People have a lot of passion when it comes to creating a playspace, so the whole process is incredibly rewarding.”

Grant has 20 years experience in construction management working in a diverse range of industries. He has worked in the playspace construction sector for a significant number of those years. Grant brings excellent people skills to the Site Manager role which enables him to comfortably work with the various groups and individuals involved in the construction process. He has an excellent understanding of site management and has the experience and skills to consistently achieve high-quality project outcomes.

Kelvin brings 17 years’ worth of experience in the playground construction industry. His knowledge and expertise in this area run wide and deep and include skills in site management, play equipment installation, surfacing, and base works. These skills, paired with a natural ability for problem-solving, enable Kelvin to quickly resolve issues on-site and continuously improve through innovation. Kelvin has worked on many major playground projects over the years, too many to mention – but Anderson Park in Napier and Parliamentary Playground in Wellington are two recent highlights.

With 10 years’ worth of experience in the construction industry, Carn Parata knows how to run a job site. Not only is he well versed in earthworks, landscaping and drainage, but he also possesses a creative streak and a love of big challenges. This mix of talents make Carn the perfect fit for playground construction where he enjoys the technical challenges of creating spaces that are safe, enjoyable and, ultimately, fun. Carn has been involved in the delivery of some large-scale projects including, the Dunedin City Council playgrounds revamp and the installation of the Cornwall Park playground in Hastings.

Jing graduated with a Masters Degree in Landscape Architecture in 2017, then spent the next two years working in residential and commercial landscape design before joining Creo. Prior to this, she worked as a park design researcher on projects such as the Eden Project in Christchurch, Mackenzie Drylands in the Mackenzie Basin, Mt Cook National Park, and the Meili Snow Mountain National Park in China. She has a passion for research and design, and a love of detailed playspace design.