Parramatta Justice Precinct
- 15 September 2010
- Case Studies
- Branding, Environmental Graphics, Interpretive Signage
Parramatta Justice Precinct has a dramatic and somewhat gruesome history. Our challenge was how to present the site’s history in a subtle manner, revealing stories at different levels for those who used the site every day? The design approach needed to engage and captivate a returning audience, maintain historical and archaeological factuality, and respond to the architectural and landscape context of the site.
Industry setting
The 6000m² Parramatta Justice Precinct was the site of the first Colonial Hospital and the first tent Hospital dating back to 1790. The site now houses the new Family Court, Trial Court, Children’s Court and Attorney General’s Office, comprising three new multi-storey buildings, refurbishment to some existing buildings, new commercial structures and extensive civil and landscaping features.
The precinct will become one of the most significant employment generators for Parramatta and the Western Sydney region. The precinct has a five-star environmental rating, the first major government building in NSW to achieve this standard.
Challenge
Doppio was engaged to develop an identity and visual language for the precinct, which conveyed the historical and archaeological fabric of the site as an integral part of its contemporary redevelopment and reuse.
The design approach needed to engage and captivate a returning audience, maintain historical and archaeological factuality, and respond to the architectural and landscape context of the site.
Strategy
The site has a dramatic and somewhat gruesome history. Our approach was to present the site’s history in a subtle manner, revealing stories at different
levels for those who used the site every day.
The interpretive elements are used to present these stories, some of which reveal archaeological remains and interpret public artworks.
The elements included artefact displays, foreshore signage and interpretive plaques, bronze paver castings, cast metal lettering, supergraphics and vinyl banners, presenting historic photography and commissioned illustrations.
