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Translating cultural heritage sites into virtual reality: Challenges in the design process
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School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Bachelor's thesis
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en
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52 + 9
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Over the recent decades, advancements in technology have transformed how people can experience cultural heritage by offering immersive digital in-teractions beyond traditional on-site visits. Virtual reality has become a powerful tool for interpreting and sharing cultural heritage and knowledge as a result of this technological advancement. The growing importance of cultural heritage has prompted more research and government initiatives in adopting emerging technologies in its protection. Current studies have demonstrated the medium potential for translation. The present study shifts the focus to the challenges involved in the intermedial translations of historical materials into virtual reality. This study focuses on the concept design phase and decision-making process of designers when transforming cultural heritage sites into virtual environments.
The literature review outlines important concepts from the academic dis-course of cultural mediation, virtual reality, and translation design. This thesis adopted a qualitative research method using semi-structured inter-views. These interviews were conducted with seven experts involved in the design process for virtual heritage projects centred around cultural herit-age sites. Firstly, interviewees were asked about their project experience, collaboration with stakeholders, and translation design practices. Seven interviewees revealed their design decisions involved in translating cultur-al contents into virtual reality, the challenges they encountered, and the solutions they implemented.
The present study identifies six key challenges during the process of trans-lating cultural heritage sites into virtual reality. These challenges arise from the unique characteristics of each heritage site, the availability and quality of historical data, as well as considerations related to cultural au-thenticity and informed decision-making. Additional challenges include the reconstruction of the site into 3D, the interpretation and representation of intangible elements, together with the effective management of team col-laboration and stakeholder involvement, which are essential for ensuring authentic translations. These challenges have major consequences for three main stakeholder groups: designers, cultural stakeholders, and research-ers.