Matua Road Playground

Parks and facilities across Tāmaki Makaurau provide Aucklanders with spaces and opportunities to connect, stay active and enjoy a day out.”

Councillor Richard Hills | Chair of Auckland Council’s Planning, Environment and Parks Committees

A place to play, a place to stay.

The new park at Matua Road in Huapai was built to meet the needs of new and future residents. The project included new play amenities, connecting pathways, landscaping, park furniture and a flat open space for activities such as kicking a ball around.

Collaboration

Auckland City Council believe in inclusive and active communities investing regularly in playgrounds, walking tracks, sports facilities and much more for residents across Tāmaki Makaurau to use and enjoy. Acting on their brief and in collaboration with Urban Solutions, we created an inclusive space that incorporated climbing equipment, play pieces and park furniture into the natural landscape.

With a focus on the Council’s urban development goal to “keep renewing existing assets and creating more great infrastructure like boardwalks and playgrounds for the benefit of Aucklanders and to meet the future needs of Auckland’s growing population”, we brought together a fabulous adventure park for the neighbourhood of Huapai.

Blending innovative bespoke train-themed pieces with traditional play equipment, the collaboration brought to the community a recreation area that will invite imaginative play and inclusive adventures.

Solution

The specially designed space features carved timber sheep and bespoke timber balancing train tracks to inspire interaction and provide a place where children can create stories around their playtime, pretending to be train conductors or farmers and emulating real-world vocations through imaginative play.

Matua Road Playground features challenging climbing walls and obstacles, perfect for kids who love to clamber. And descending from these giddy heights is easy with the multiple slide options. For those who like to slide solo, there is a free-standing slide with an access platform that has room for friends. And for those who like the challenge of a race, the double slide with timber platform will bring out the competitive spirit in speedsters.

Of course, no playground is complete without a swing set. And this playground features not one, but two timber swing sets individually equipped with adult and toddler seat. The chunky timber frame provides a wide choice of seat and chain combinations and will have kids swooshing up to the clouds and down again, reaching ever higher side-by-side with family or friends.

Thrill-seekers of any age can tackle the pump track, whether on two wheels, three, or four. Clip on a helmet and enjoy a unique riding experience for scooter, skateboard and bike riders. The pump track builds confidence, develops balance skills in an invigorating and super-thrilling flow state. Custom Stepping Logs weave their way through the playground offering the perfect way to traverse the space and inviting opportunities for inclusive family fun, while a Log Bridge Fitness Station challenges co-ordination and balance with its swaying step bridge.

Boasting a creative mix of innovative playground pieces and areas to engage in games of frisbee or football, this is a place for all to come together in adventurous or relaxing recreational pursuits. Matua Road playground is a place to play, a place to stay.