Digital surrogacy: politics and aesthetics in visualising the historical past of a city

Abstract

As part of the culturally focused direction of travel surrounding Gothenburg's fourth centenary, several departments of the municipality have collaborated to produce a virtual model of Gothenburg as it was in the seventeenth century, first presented to the public in 2017. This case study analyses the city's approaches to displaying and vitalising the model, the role of the built environment as a cultural backdrop, and the efficacy of cultural transmission within this digital context. Principally, this analysis offers a critical response to the depiction of the city's cultural heritage, but it also aims to examine the wider role of digital visualisation in contemporary heritage discourse. Characterising the realisation of the model's current iteration as a stepping stone for further development, potential points of departure for creativity and meaning-making within the model itself and in a broader context are made to inform future heritage practices in the city.

Historical-graphical analysis and digital preservation of cultural heritage: case study of the baptismal font of the church of Santiago Apóstol in Montilla (Córdoba, Spain)

“…The application of digitalisation and 3D documenting techniques provides important information for the restoration, conservation and recovery of cultural heritage. They are also among the main tools to improve their knowledge and dissemination [7,33]. In the case of the baptismal font of the church of Santiago Apóstol in Montilla, photogrammetric techniques based on Structured from Motion were used to digitally document the piece due to its size.…”

“…The application of digitalisation and 3D documenting techniques in the preservation of heritage are of great relevance nowadays, as they provide architects, archaeologists, and restorers with innovative resources for its restoration. They are also among the main tools to improve their knowledge and dissemination [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. These techniques have been used to reproduce cities or monuments that have disappeared.…”

“…These techniques have been used to reproduce cities or monuments that have disappeared. As it can be seen in the reconstruction of Gothenburg in the sixteenth century, carried out on the occasion of the fourth centenary of its foundation [7]. Showing itself as an example of the confluence of science and cultural heritage through virtual heritage.…”

“…Especially in the field of local heritage, when the economic and material resources to achieve its conservation are scarce. In this way, these insights in the cultural heritage knowledge will likely entail a positive economic repercussion in its environment [7,10,12,18]. Through the application of different techniques and methodologies in this sense, it is possible to give visibility to this heritage.…”

Digital Twin for Xiegong’s Architectural Archaeological Research: A Case Study of Xuanluo Hall, Sichuan, China

“…It is common to create visual interactive platforms for management and virtual tours, which demonstrate the effectiveness of cultural communication and explore the broad application of digital methods in the context of heritage conservation. Illsley states that a virtual model of Gothenburg in the seventeenth century was made to inform future heritage practices in the city [25]. Burkey used the qualitative studies of eight cultural heritage communities and a digital heritage initiative to build a new ecosystem for cultural heritage and corporate memory [26].…”