Digital Guide enhances the visitor experience with AR
A digital guide with an immersive twist
In an exciting new heritage project, Zubr were awarded the contract to work with Grand Junction, a community, arts and culture venue housed within the Grade I listed St Mary Magdalene Church in Paddington, London. The Grand Junction team were keen to find new ways to interpret and share the church’s rich Victorian history, seeking an opportunity to deepen visitor engagement through digital means.
Zubr’s brief was clear: design a digital experience to guide visitors through the church’s history, make the physical site more interactive, and reach audiences who may not otherwise engage with the site’s heritage.
Our solution: We created a web-based digital guide, accessible directly on visitors’ own devices without the need for downloads. The guide combines rich storytelling with twelve bespoke AR experiences, encouraging visitors to explore the site through an interactive map of hotspots. From historical reconstructions to playful filters, every feature was designed to invite curiosity, spark interaction, and make the church’s layered history more memorable.
Partners
Working closely with the Grand Junction team, their passionate volunteers, and with support from the Heritage Fund and the Paddington Development Trust, we shaped an experience that reflects the spirit of the site whilst ensuring accessibility for all.
History and Site Map with AR Hotspots
St Mary Magdalene Church has a layered history, from its construction in the 1860s under the architect G.E. Street to its more recent restorations. Its striking Gothic design, elaborate stained glass, and carved stonework all provided rich opportunities for interpretation.
Within the digital guide, a multi-layered map orients visitors with the four different areas of the church, highlighting key areas such as the nave, altar, undercroft and church exterior. AR hotspots marked on the map invite exploration: by aligning their device with the physical space, visitors can unlock stories, historical photographs, immersive AR overlays, and more! These moments reveal hidden details, offer perspectives from the past, and bring the church’s vivid history into focus.
Stories that step out of history
Augmented reality forms the hearts of the experience, offering opportunities for storytelling and play. Historical figures such as architect George Edmund Street and Victorian Parishioner Sarah Smith appear as animated characters on the screen, their likenesses created using archival imagery, AI-generated assets, and carefully scripted dialogue. Visitors encounter them at various hotspots across the site, where they share their personal stories and insights drawn from history.
Other AR features invite interaction in imaginative ways. Filters and overlays allow “then and now” comparisons, illustrating how spaces looked before restoration and highlighting the symbolism of the stained glass and carvings. A playful selfie filter allows visitors to step into the role of the stained glass figures, donning the crowns of Saint Swithin and S. Frideswide as they appear in the church windows. In the Chapel, a unique AR experience brings the painted musical scores on the walls to life, as visitors scan the music notes to trigger the atmospheric medieval music.
In total, the guide incorporates twelve AR experiences. Together, they balance playfulness with historical depth, ensuring that the immersive technology enhances rather than distracts from the contemplative atmosphere of the site. Additionally, detailed information pages and video content are included in the digital guide, offering written insights into various areas of the church’s construction, use and conservation.
Accessible, scalable, and inclusive
The guide was designed as a responsive web-based platform, giving visitors instant access on their own smartphones, tablets, or computers without the need to download an app. Combining text, archival photography, and video content to tell the church’s story, visitors can access the digital guide at home or on site – though the AR components remain exclusive to on-site visitors for a truly location-specific experience.
By hosting the guide online, accessibility is maximised: prospective visitors can preview what is on offer at Grand Junction, whilst exploring aspects of the church’s history. For inclusivity, tablets are also available on site for visitors without a device, ensuring no one misses out.
The platform is scalable and flexible, with content that can be updated quickly to reflect new visitor experiences or events.
Rooted in community and culture
The Grand Junction digital guide demonstrates how augmented reality can transform heritage interpretation. By blending history, storytelling, and immersive technology, the guide deepens engagement with the church’s heritage and attracts new audiences, all whilst supporting the venue’s mission as a space for culture and community.
With its balance of playfulness and reflection, the guide invites visitors to see St Mary Magdalene church in new ways – encouraging self-led exploration and repeat visits, sparking curiosity, and celebrating the enduring significance of this remarkable community space. To see how these ideas extend beyond Grand Junction, explore our Augmented Reality Trails page for more inspiring projects.