Digital Space & Place: History & Fantasy for Public Heritage

This event is part of SHBT's Challenging Conservation 24/25 lecture series.

Speakers:

Dr Glaire Anderson - Edinburgh College of Art

Dr James Cook - Edinburgh College of Art

How do you help a wide public audience imagine and appreciate architecture when the buildings no longer exist? When they can't be visited, viewed, and experienced?

Glaire Anderson discusses her work as external historian/art historian on Ubisoft's popular history-themed video game Assassin's Creed Mirage. Set in 9th century Baghdad, the game's virtual environment offers an extreme case of digital visualisation for cultural heritage.

Now a ruined shell clinging to the side of the peel above Linlithgow Loch, Linlithgow Palace was once the great pleasure palace of the kings and queens of Scotland. It resounded to music sung by skilled musicians in magnificent surroundings. James Cook’s work brings together scientific acoustic research, historical archival work, archaeology, and performance to reconstruct this building within Virtual Reality. His talk considers what digital approaches can bring to cultural heritage, considering how they may help to explore more its more ephemeral aspects, and counter historiographical issues made manifest in popular culture.

Host or Publisher Scottish Historic Buildings Trust