Augmenting Digital Heritage of Kashgar

What is it about?

The article presents a framework for a digital heritage research, Augmenting Kashgar, that facilitates the revitalizing of a historical architecture by using gamification, shape grammars and virtual reality. Examining the current use of new media technologies, our methodology initially merges shape grammars, a generative modelling method, with gamification. It then extends the use of game elements into virtual reality in which the synthesizing of the old culture with a new one is the main accomplishment being sought.

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Photo by Amo on Unsplash

Photo by Amo on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Emergent technologies have been transforming both virtual reality and architecture fields. Subsequently, this has an impact on the convergence of these two fields in regard to digital heritage. However, the addition of other indispensable dimensions, such as history and culture, also generated some degrees of complication. We respond to this situation by mapping out methodology through gamification techniques. In doing so, we blend seamless past-present- future relations by evolving from a real tangible assets, then transforming them through a transformation from ‘inside’, meaning from local stakeholders, and finally reenact a further evolved local culture. ur Augmented Kashgar Project goes beyond a heritage visualization limited to a prescribed interpretation and definition. By prompting a social motive, collective intelligence and participation the project builds upon geometrical data that are generated by stakeholders via game methodologies. They form the basis for the next level of our project development that uses virtual reality visualizations to allow an interactive engagement with the heritage.

Perspectives