THE METAVERSE AND IMMOVABLE CULTURAL HERITAGE: PRESERVING AND VALUING OUR ARCHITECTURAL LEGACY

The metaverse, a universe with infinite powers, represents an unprecedented opportunity for immovable cultural heritage. Thanks to augmented reality, virtual reality and the internet, the metaverse offers a new way of interacting with and enhancing the value of immovable cultural heritage.

A new exhibition space

Thanks to metaverse, people all over the world can access architectural works of our heritage directly from their own homes. This new model allows culture to be democratized by overcoming financial, geographical and political constraints.

For example, for several years now, the Château de Versailles has been offering the world the chance to visit the chateau virtually, thanks to the " Vivez Versailles " experience. It's an opportunity to plunge back into a courtier era and place the architectural work in its historical context.

This global accessibility is not limited to individual visits. Schools, universities, and cultural institutions can organize virtual guided tours, interactive courses, and educational workshops directly in the metaverse. Students can interact with experts, ask questions in real-time, and gain a rich and comprehensive learning experience without the logistical and financial constraints of international travel.

Reinventing Learning Methods

The history of their construction is often hidden or invisible. The construction of monuments has rarely been completed in one go with a single architectural style. This is why it is therefore difficult to identify all the architectural styles and the chronology of a building's construction. Similarly, interior colors and decorations can fade over time and become less visible. This represents a difficulty for museums that want to highlight the changes in their heritage over time.

The metaverse allows us to free ourselves from temporal constraints by offering the possibility of travelling through time. It is possible to create virtual spaces in which the architecture of a monument differs according to the chosen era. Thanks to augmented reality, it is possible to see the heritage with some architectural parts less or more, depending on the period chosen. The architectural chronology of heritage is a very important point for students and researchers in the sector and making it visible is a rich source of information.

After the Notre-Dame-de-Paris fire, Orange and Amaclio Productions, in partnership with the Diocese of Paris, the public institution responsible for the conservation and reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris and the City of Paris, have also created a virtual reality experience named “Éternelle Notre-Dame” that allows visitors to immerse themselves in the history of Notre-Dame-de-Paris cathedral. The journey begins in 1240, in Paris in the pouring rain, while the cathedral is still without its two towers, which are still under construction. An opportunity to find out more about the cathedral while it is closed.

Because yes, the metaverse can provide continuity when the context doesn't allow you to visit a site.

Reconstructing a lost heritage

For heritage that has disappeared, the contribution of the metaverse can be even more radical. Over the last few centuries, 6 of the 7 wonders of the world have disappeared. These include: The Alexandria Lighthouse in Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Mesopotamia (Iraq), the gold and ivory statue of Zeus at Olympia in Greece, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the tomb of Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in present-day Turkey and the Colossus of Rhodes. 

Using the available documentation, architects and engineers have virtually recreated these wonders, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the marvels of the past through a reconstructed reality.

More recently and in the current political context, the immovable cultural heritage is in danger or has already been devastated.  For example, in the Middle East, war and terrorism have destroyed and continue to destroy heritage. Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and now Palestine have seen their heritage slowly crumbling away. The only solution to save immovable cultural heritage has been the digitization of architectural works and archaeological sites. To bring these places back to life, certain organizations and companies are undertaking the creation of virtual spaces through the metaverse.

Two French companies, Ubisoft and Iconem1, have also collaborated on reconstructing historical monuments devastated by war, in partnership with UNESCO and the Arab World Institute. This project, titled «Cités Millénaires : Voyages Virtuels de Palmyre à Mossoul», is a compelling example of collaboration between two French companies and two cultural institutions, using virtual reality to preserve memory and heritage. Aleppo, Palmyra, Mosul—these names resonate as symbols of Arab millennium heritage. Yet, they are also martyr sites, devastated by human folly. This virtual exhibition has resurrected the vanished heritage for the duration of an exhibition, through a virtual journey. This virtual exhibition was made possible thanks to the large-scale projection of new images captured by drones and reconstructed in 3D by the company Iconem.

([1]Iconem, founded in 2013, is a pioneering startup focused on the digital preservation of at-risk cultural heritage sites through 3D technology. The company collaborates extensively with global entities such as UNESCO, national governments, local authorities, and prestigious museums like the Louvre. Iconem's expertise spans the creation of precise 3D models tailored to specific sites, ranging from architectural reconstructions to expansive urban and rural landscapes. They also contribute to museum exhibitions and offer training programs for local professionals, aiming to safeguard and promote cultural heritage worldwide.)