Session Chair:

Spatio-Temporally Navigable Representation and Communication of Urban Cultural Heritage
Yehuda Kalay, Seung Wook Kim, Gokce Kinayoglu
University of California at Berkeley, California, USA

Virtual environments are effective tools for the representation and communication of cultural heritage. We suggest that an interactive, immersive and dynamic navigation of the virtual representation of the urban environment will not only convey the essence of the culture and the changes it underwent in a more comprehensible manner, but will engender a 'sense of place' genius loci in the visitors. This cognitive mode will help them learn about much more than the geometry and materiality of the city: it will make them 'feel' part of the event itself. Virtual reality surpasses both traditional media and 3D-models and offers what they cannot. By presenting a socially shareable experience, the medium gains the character of a genuine place, and becomes a social venue for active exploration, discussion and interaction. The affordances of the media, however, also have the potential to destroy the sense of place it strives to engender. It can do so by allowing a kind of time travel, to different periods in the history of the site. This ability locates visitors not only spatially, but also temporally. Everyday experience helps us understand the meaning of spatial boundedness, but does not prepare us to deal with temporal boundedness: sensing the presence of fellow visitors at different times. In this paper we describe our experiences in producing spatio-temporally navigable virtual reconstructions of two distinct culturally significant historic sites: the Neolithic village of Catalhoyuk, and the medieval city of Cairo. We demonstrate the use of spatio-temporal navigation through a dynamic, chronologically layered model that can be browsed by multiple users at the same time. Such a dynamic system for representing chronological architectural events requires the extension of our conception of place into the temporal domain. We introduce a new concept, temporal field of view (t-FOV) and discuss how it can aid us in resolving an intrinsic challenge introduced by the representation of the temporal dimension in virtual environments.

Virtual Heritage Modeling and Exchange
Yong-Moo Kwon, Jinwoo Park
IMRC, Korea Institute of Science & Technology, Seoul, Korea

This paper introduces our researches on virtual heritage 3D modeling using various kinds of acquisition and imaging techniques such as the 3D scanning and the silhouette based 3D modeling. The 3D laser scanning technique is used for point clouds acquisition of various stone Buddhas (especially UNESCO World Heritage, Replica of Sukgul-Ahm), and national treasures in Gyeongju South Mountain. The pattern based scanning technique is also used for the modeling of the positive and negative fonts in stone monuments (Great-King Kwang-Gye-To’s stone monument) and wooden engraving block (the replica of Tripitaca Koreana), respectively. The silhouette based 3D modeling techniques are applied for the restoration of old sword. The virtual heritage databases are build-up based on these techniques and serviced web site while using 3D model navigation tools. The virtual museum service technique is also addressed while considering the role of real museum. The synchronization service issue b/w real and virtual museum is considered under the ICOM (International Council on Museums)’s definition of museum. The network interaction scheme for the virtual heritage service through network is addressed. The DHX (Digital Heritage Exchange) activities between Korea and Germany through TEIN are introduced.

3D Database System of Mercede Church: The Use of 3D Models as an Interface to Information
*Yasuhide Okamoto, *Jun Takamatsu, *Masataka Kagesawa, **Ken Okada, *Katsushi Ikeuchi
*Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, Japan
**National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo Japan

Advancement in 3D modelling technologies has enabled us to obtain high resolution 3D models of real objects, for example historic buildings. Unfortunately, however, the application tools for large models have not been existed, which allow experts and other people outsides of the field of computer engineering to utilize the 3D models effectively. We introduce a GUI-based application tool enabling users to easily add optional information on the certain area of 3D models, and to access that information when viewing the 3D models. The 3D database system can deal with much information by connecting to existing database systems. In addition to that, we realize efficient selecting surfaces and accessing information on the regions for large models, using a segmentation method of 3D models surfaces. We demonstrated this tool using the 3D model of Mercede Church, in Panama City.

Post-museum Experiences: Structured Methods for Audience Engagement
Angelina Russo, Jerry Watkins
Queensland University of Technology, Australia

The modernist program underpinned the formation of our civic cultural institutions profoundly affecting the ways in which museums, libraries and art galleries collected artefacts and displayed them to their audiences. In the “post-institution” context, museums and libraries are forming new ways of working with their audiences to create meaningful interactive experiences. The internet offers a new medium through which “meaning making” and interaction can be explored to produce diverse cultural programs. While the modernist program relied on curators to mediate knowledge and information to further the institutional agenda, the post institution can play a proactive role in the development of audience experience and meaning by engaging in representative curatorial practices which enable individuals and communities to partner with communities in the preservation of cultural identity and the creation of community content. This opportunity will be realised through structured design methods where cultural institutions work with their audiences to create new experiences. This paper describes a structured method for cultural interactive experience design (CIED) and places it within an historic and political context in order to explore how curators and designers can move from collection focussed to audience focussed interactive experiences