Abstract
Abstract. Accessibility plays a main role among the aspects that contribute to the conservation of Cultural Heritage sites. Seismic stability, fragility of the artefacts, conflicts, deterioration, natural disasters, climate change and visitors’ impact are only some of the possible causes that might lead to the inaccessibility of a heritage site for both researchers and visitors.The increasing potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the conservation field has resulted in the development of Augmented and Virtual reality (AR and VR) experiences. These ones can be very effective for what concerns the description of the visual experience, but also improve the understanding of a site and even became analytic research tools.This paper presents an inaccessible Buddhist temple in the Myanmar city of Bagan as a case study for the realization of a VR experience that aims at providing accessibility to knowledge and therefore a better understanding of the cultural value. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the VR for this purpose, a user study has been conducted and its results are reported.
Highlights
Accessibility is not a secondary aspect of conservation, but a fundamental condition for Cultural Heritage
Guarantee the public accessibility to cultural heritage sites should be a prerequisite to any conservative intervention
The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume XLII-2/W11, 2019 GEORES 2019 – 2nd International Conference of Geomatics and Restoration, 8–10 May 2019, Milan, Italy facsimile was realized in order to allow tourists to get knowledge about these cultural heritage sites while protecting the fragile condition of the real caves
Summary
Accessibility is not a secondary aspect of conservation, but a fundamental condition for Cultural Heritage. The 9th chapter of the Venice Charter states that “any extra work which is indispensable must be distinct from the architectural composition and must bear a contemporary stamp” This statement begs the question of what does represent our time and which kind of intervention would best represent the contemporary research contribution to the conservation field. Accessibility does refer to physical and perceptual barriers, and to the practice of conveying knowledge and understanding about a specific site through the experience (Treccani et al, 2016). It is in these terms that the concept of “Inclusive Design” should be addressed: accessibility as equalization of the experience for everybody on the enjoyment and on the understanding level (Puyuelo et al, 2013). It is important to always remember that all new technologies and software’s must be at the dependence of conservation scope
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
