Cultural Resource Management

Virtual Ground's expertise in scientific reconstruction of vanished heritage aligns well with targeted outcomes for Cultural Resource Management projects. Previous colaborations took advantage of our R&D on emerging technology including immersive experiences and augmented reality to expand on traditional methods of preservation.

During the height of social distancing in 2020, VGI brought to ACRA (American Cultural Resource Association) a webinar on new technology and Section 106 compliance. We talked about how new ways for 2D and 3D digital information visualization provide new opportunities to comply with the goals of Section 106 and ensure that the data being preserved is not only accessible to a wider audience, but conveys the information in an engaging and innovative way.

  • Creative & Alternative Mitigation

    Mitigation efforts then represent ways to compensate the public from the loss or great diminish of historic properties. The heritage management community can expand mitigation initiatives to include emerging technologies that are intertwined with the gerenal public's daily routines.

  • Expand your Technology Roster

    New approaches to alternative and creative mitigation can be part of a broader mitigation package. Developing mitigation projects that maximize outputs of the created content will have a greater impact, as they will offer many ways to for the community to experience the results and produce a higher return of investment.

  • Embrace Transmedia Storytelling

    New ways of delivering information to the public promote a shift from paper documentation to online digital assets. When dispersing the generated content through multiple delivery channels, each medium also makes unique contributions to the narrative.

By taking advantage of emerging technologies already embraced by the general public, the outcomes from the mitigation efforts will most certainly reach a broader public involvement, enhancing exposure of the project, and generating a renewed interest in supporting future preservation efforts.

Virtual Grounds Interactive - Emerging Technology for Heritage Management & Section 106 Compliance 2020

Kentucky River Lock & Dam 12 Site

Virtual Grounds developed digital assets for the documentation of the mitigation efforts for the Kentucky River Lock & Dam 12 site located in Estill County, KY. The mitigation project was conducted by the cultural resource management company Gray & Pape Heritage Management. The mitigation package included the creation of 3D digital models showcasing the two existing lock tender houses and surrounding landscape.

Maximizing Outputs

VGI repackaged the 3D models as a video publicly available on YouTube, telling the history of the site. The video features several fly-throughs of the virtual assets, the landscape, and graphic and other media elements such as historical photographs, aerial imagery, topographic data, and architectural drawings, to provide an overview of the site's history and its physical configuration.

The digital models of both structure and terrain were also uploaded to the 3D model visualization platform Sketchfab, which provided an additional output for the created asset.

Gray & Pape was very enthusiastic with the result and often tells us that the video generated a tremendous ROI.

Visualizing the Lock & Dam 12 Site

The 3D models of the extant structures received a photorealistic mapping texture and helped preserve the buildings for the general public.

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THE WORLD IS CHANGING

Perhaps it would be proactive for the cultural heritage community to reflect on what’s ahead:

the expectation from the public and in particular from the next generation that online and mainly mobile access will be the preferred form of information visualization.

Virtual Grounds Interactive - Emerging Technology for Heritage Management & Section 106 Compliance 2020

  • Watch the video

    The Kentucky River Lock & Dam 12 video is available for the general public on YouTube. It is a dynamic and easily accessible part of the documentation set for the mitigation package.

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