Christchurch Airport Playspace
Little Explorers Base Camp
Harewood, Christchurch
Closing chapter of Stage 1 of Christchurch Airport’s terminal upgrade. A bespoke Antarctic-themed playspace, anchored by a custom C-17 play plane, now sits at the heart of the food court, giving young travellers somewhere to climb, slide, explore and burn off pre-flight energy moments before they board.
A precise scope, delivered to plan:
- Bespoke C-17 play plane
- Sensory wall
- Mound with slide and tunnel
- 5 Pour'N'Play rubber rocks
- 2D Pour'N'Play shapes
- 130m² of poured rubber shockpad
- 100m² of Pour'N'Play top layer in a custom colour mix
- 3 pairs of Pour'N'Play penguin footprints
- 25 pairs of Pour'N'Play shoeprints
- 1 column spinner
Gateway to the Ice
With around 100 flights a year heading south to Antarctica, Christchurch Airport has long held a unique place in New Zealand’s connection to the continent. The brief was clear: turn that story into a playspace with a genuine sense of place, designed for the more than 170,000 families who travel through the terminal every year.
Creo led the design, fabrication and installation from concept through to final sign-off, working closely with the airport team to translate Antarctic adventure into a space that welcomes tamariki of every age and ability. One project plan, one point of contact, one fixed price, with proactive updates from the first sketch to the final layer of rubber.
The result is a sensory-rich, inclusive environment built to NZS 5828 standards and engineered for the foot traffic of one of the country’s busiest gateways. Sensory walls, stepping rocks, a tunnelled mound, a column spinner and a climbable C-17 all sit on a custom Pour’N’Play surface, with penguin footprints and shoeprints scattered across the rubber to invite exploration.
The Bespoke C-17 Play Plane
The hero of the space is a one-of-a-kind C-17 play plane, handcrafted in Creo’s Oamaru workshop. Inspired by the heavy-lift aircraft that move people and supplies between Christchurch and the ice, the plane gives the playspace its identity and its name on the terminal map: Little Explorers Base Camp.
From the wings to the fuselage, every component was custom-fabricated in-house, then transported and installed alongside the surrounding play features. Built once, built right, with the same durability and compliance standards as every every catalogue piece in our range.
For a terminal that hosts nearly seven million passengers a year, the C-17 has been engineered to handle constant use without losing its detail or its appeal. It anchors the space as a landmark piece, a first impression of Christchurch for thousands of international arrivals, and a quiet nod to the city’s role as gateway to Antarctica.
A Space That Welcomes Everyone
More than 850 children under twelve pass through Christchurch Airport every day. The playspace has been designed for all of them, with sensory features that engage children of differing needs, ground-level play accessible to children of every ability, and clear sight-lines so caregivers can supervise from the surrounding seating.
The Little Explorers Base Camp now stands as the closing chapter of a terminal-wide upgrade and a memorable welcome to Christchurch for visitors arriving from offshore. A world-class space for the smallest of explorers, delivered the way every Creo project is: on time, on budget, and with a single point of contact from concept through to final safety sign-off.
Photography by Clinton Lloyd, used with the photographer’s kind permission.
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