After a year-long period of research, including stakeholder and industry expert consultation, SUPERSENSE co-authored an Interpretation Strategy and designed a suite of innovative heritage interpretation to enhance the visitor experience at World Heritage-listed Parramatta Park’s Dairy Precinct. Notably, the precinct houses one of Australia’s oldest European structures.
A key objective of the project was to convey stories and histories that resonate with the park’s themes and World Heritage status in a way that captivates diverse contemporary audiences. The essence of the historic structures and landscape is evoked through the integration of architectural heritage, archaeology, object displays, and sensory technology. Touch screens serve as interactive windows to displayed objects, bringing them to life through digital interpretation.
The project received a special commendation at the Australian Interior Design Awards, Installation Category, 2017.
Across all interiors, the curatorial and design intention was to reveal layers accumulated over time. For instance, one room in the Rangers Cottage intertwines the stories of the historic Sunken Dairy, unearthed beneath a bedroom in the cottage in the 20th century, and the lives of the numerous Rangers and their families who cared for the Park.
The interior interpretive exhibition encompasses object displays, AV installations, digital interactives, and a sophisticated lighting strategy for the entire site. Display cases, object displays, touch screen interactives, and soundscape installations are designed to be updated over time, ensuring the experience evolves and meets changing visitor needs.
A significant challenge was to ensure that the site’s significance remained unaffected and that all interventions were reversible. Meeting this challenge required a thoughtful and innovative design approach.
Each room in the Dairy Cottage features displays of objects uncovered beneath the floorboards, arranged thematically as developed in the preceding Interpretation Strategy. Subtle lighting enhances the textures and layers of the Dairy Cottage walls, with fragments of text embedded in illumination rails taken from primary sources of past residents.
SUPERSENSE created an interpretive design sub-brand aligned with the Park’s recent rebranding efforts. Collaboration with the Trust’s brand and marketing teams ensured coherence and alignment, resulting in a flexible design language that embraces both the 'rural' and 'regal' characteristics of the park for site-wide application.
