REbuilding a sense of PLACE (REPLACE): The socio-cultural role of 3D technologies in increasing community resilience after natural disasters.
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Essex
Department Name: School of Philosophy and Art History
Abstract
Natural disasters are causing the destruction of landscapes and built environments more frequently than ever before. These events have a profound impact on communities. When they lose their physical home, communities also risk losing their identity which makes them particularly vulnerable. Heritage (both tangible and intangible) is essential to both an individual's and a community's definition of identity, self-understanding, and sense of place. It makes places culturally significant and expresses the social meaning of life within a community. For many people, the loss of cultural heritage through disaster is equivalent to losing an arm or a leg: 'you grieve for the loss, you eventually learn to adapt, but you never fully recover'. When considering such losses, we need to explore ways in which we can rebuild not only the lost heritage but also the sense of place, to help communities heal and recover socially. This will build their resilience and increase their ability to prepare, respond to, and recover from future shocks, especially in areas where natural disasters are recurrent.
High-definition 3D technologies (e.g. laser scanning, photogrammetry, rapid prototyping) are recognized as having a great potential to enhance heritage and place recovery. However, to date, nobody has explored how local communities have responded to 3D technology-led interventions and which interventions can best help communities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Thus, digital projects are undertaken without any evidence as to whether these interventions have the power to increase community resilience by enhancing social recovery, rebuilding a community's sense of belonging to a place, and helping communities to reclaim ownership of their local heritage. Literature on the role of 3D technologies for documenting and recovering lost heritage is often outcome-centred and focuses primarily on the tangible aspects of heritage (i.e. monuments, buildings) as an end product of recovery, rather than on a co-ordinated use of 3D technologies to support communities through the HMC.
Based on these premises and to integrate 3D technologies effectively in the HMC it is time to:
1. Understand how 3D technologies can serve the needs of a community to rebuild a sense of place after their loss.
2. Design and test 3D technologies that can promote community resilience, defined, according to the Sendai Framework, as the capability to absorb adversity, deal with change and continue to develop (i.e. bouncing back better by building back better), and aid communities during the various phases of the HMC.
I want to investigate, demonstrate and bring into national and international focus the impactful role of 3D technologies in helping communities to rebuild a sense of place after experiencing a natural disaster. To do this, we must consider a complex but homogeneous cultural context with a long history of recurrent disasters. This in-depth longitudinal study is crucial for clarifying the role of 3D technologies for increasing resilience and empowering communities during the various stages of the Hazard Management Cycle. I will study and compare a number of communities in Italy, a country that sits on significant geological fault lines and has regularly been hit by earthquakes in recent years that have resulted in not only loss of lives and heritage but also forced displacement and migration.
High-definition 3D technologies (e.g. laser scanning, photogrammetry, rapid prototyping) are recognized as having a great potential to enhance heritage and place recovery. However, to date, nobody has explored how local communities have responded to 3D technology-led interventions and which interventions can best help communities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. Thus, digital projects are undertaken without any evidence as to whether these interventions have the power to increase community resilience by enhancing social recovery, rebuilding a community's sense of belonging to a place, and helping communities to reclaim ownership of their local heritage. Literature on the role of 3D technologies for documenting and recovering lost heritage is often outcome-centred and focuses primarily on the tangible aspects of heritage (i.e. monuments, buildings) as an end product of recovery, rather than on a co-ordinated use of 3D technologies to support communities through the HMC.
Based on these premises and to integrate 3D technologies effectively in the HMC it is time to:
1. Understand how 3D technologies can serve the needs of a community to rebuild a sense of place after their loss.
2. Design and test 3D technologies that can promote community resilience, defined, according to the Sendai Framework, as the capability to absorb adversity, deal with change and continue to develop (i.e. bouncing back better by building back better), and aid communities during the various phases of the HMC.
I want to investigate, demonstrate and bring into national and international focus the impactful role of 3D technologies in helping communities to rebuild a sense of place after experiencing a natural disaster. To do this, we must consider a complex but homogeneous cultural context with a long history of recurrent disasters. This in-depth longitudinal study is crucial for clarifying the role of 3D technologies for increasing resilience and empowering communities during the various stages of the Hazard Management Cycle. I will study and compare a number of communities in Italy, a country that sits on significant geological fault lines and has regularly been hit by earthquakes in recent years that have resulted in not only loss of lives and heritage but also forced displacement and migration.
Publications
Ammar Azzouz
(2023)
The sense of grief and loss at the destruction of one's home
Baraldo M
(2024)
Place-centred emerging technologies for disaster management: A scoping review
in International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco, P.
(2023)
Roots and Wings: Objects, Stories, and People recount Senerchia - Exhibition
Galeazzi F
(2022)
Earthquakes, communities and heritage: Telling stories of resilience through co-designed immersive media
in Visual Studies
| Title | Development of 3D interventions |
| Description | Continuing development of 3d products in WebGL, Mozilla hubs and VR experiences (through unreal engine) developed in collaboration with ThinkSee3d and the Virtual Experience Company. Development of these products can be followed on our website (linked below). |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Impact | Real time development of these 3D digital interventions alongside collaboration with the communities allow us to work collaboratively on their evolution and ensure the communities are crucial in the outcomes of these interventions. |
| URL | https://replace.org.uk/ |
| Title | Developments in February & March 2023 - Reconstruction lost places experiments |
| Description | Trials of reconstructing lost places began in February 2023 with some initial work by ThinkSee3D on reconstructing lost buildings from limited data (obtained by VEC during a very preliminary drone acquisition campaign) sets and looking at adding props and more natural elements including people to scenes. Bringing together GIS data, maps, Google street view and other photos methods were explored to recreate lost buildings including using a Blender add-on called FSpy which allows the recreation of 3D models from a single photograph provided there is some evidence of perspective in the photograph. (https://fspy.io/). This produced the first tentative reconstructions of a lost piazza from Amatrice. All the buildings in this scene were lost in 2016. The use of limited light sources and setting the scene at night provided a more realistic feel to the scenes as did the addition of human size props, plastic chairs in this case. These are early trials so much more work is to be done including improving the look of the architecture, adding more props and better ground planes. These trials have shown how important human-level features are to the look of reconstructions. This will inform future scanning exercises to be undertaken at the next field trip at the end of March 2023. Conclusions - to February 2023 The use of high-resolution 3D models working in VR was one of the most interesting discoveries of the visualisation trials because this has never been remotely feasible in previous generations of render engines and GPU's. For obvious performance reasons rendering millions of triangles in real-time with realistic physical based lighting through a 2 image stereoscopic VR headset refreshing at 90fps was totally impossible but these trials showed it can now be done. It means the ambition to create a much more realistic looking virtual experience within this project is possible. The companies producing the render engine (Epic Games) and the GPU technology hardware, NVIDIA are all investing in virtual technology and from various conference talks it seems the generality and stability of this technology will improve over the coming year. • Some lessons learned from the first model building exercises • Scanning needs to be more at the human level not all at birds-eye level. • Models should be more detailed at the human level and less detailed at roof level to improve render efficiency. • Interiors of major buildings or significant sites would allow a better exploration of places for users. • Ambient sound is very important to create a sense of life and realism. • Street furniture, props and general wear and tear make scenes look much more believable. • Proper global lighting with reflections is essential for realism including reflected lights in the shadows and reflections on pavements. • Showing scenes at night covers up some realism issues by obscuring textures seams and allows for more theatrical lighting. • High resolution virtual worlds can push the software and GPU to their limits but support is improving with new versions of UE |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | No impact yet, since these preliminary data still have to be shown to and discussed with communities |
| Title | First real-time visualisations using REPLACE data with objects, assets and lighting |
| Description | During December 2022 and January 2023 the first trials of using data from the first fieldwork (September 2022) to create some digital visualisations of some of the sites began albeit the sites in their current state of ruin, not reconstructed. Blender and UE5 was used to produce the visualisations with the ambition to combine different data sets as layers of realism to virtual scenes. The data included: • The aerial scans collected by Mike Gogan and Marco Di Ioia (VEC) • The detailed models created by Steve Dey (ThinkSee3D) such as the Accumoli bell and the artefacts at Conza • Use topology data to create distant views • Apply PBR materials (Physical based rendering) to the scene • Add existing assets such as trees and bushes. * • Add sound effects - third party recording of an Italian hilltop village with bell ringing • Light the scene with a digitally generated sun and sky • Add camera effects like bloom when facing the lens • Test this rendered on conventional monitors and in VR on a Meta HMD • In UE5 apply Nanite and Lumens even though not officially supported yet in VR by Epic Games |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | No notable impact yet, as we still need to discuss these models with communities |
| Title | Italia Terremotata |
| Description | This interactive documentary combines 3D visualisation and multi-modal storytelling to tell the story of Senerchia terremotata, that is, the earthquake that devastated the Irpinia region (South Italy) in 1980. Forty years after one of the most devastating earthquakes in Italian history, Italia Terremotata investigates its long-term impact on rural communities in Irpinia (South Italy). This film integrates 3D visualisation and multimodal storytelling to recount the story of the resilient community of Senerchia, one of at least 40 towns almost completely destroyed by the 1980 earthquake which left 2483 people dead, 7700 injured, and 250,000 homeless. After the earthquake, most of the inhabitants of Senerchia lived in prefabricated houses for more than 20 years before they were able to occupy the new town, built next to the ruins of the abandoned old town. The community of Senerchia, and other affected towns, are still recovering from this life-changing event. The case study of Senerchia exemplifies how displacement from 'environments of trust' often causes a risk of uprooting, loss of control over one's physical space, and alienation, making communities very vulnerable and threatening their resilience. It also demonstrates how heritage impacts community resilience, particularly when communities lose their 'sense of place', and all the elements that contribute to rebuilding that sense after a catastrophic event: e.g. relationships with natural and built environments, and how the latter are mediated by social and power relations, traditions, and symbolism. This experimental film uses a place-centred approach and aims to define the 'sense of place' by combining intangible and tangible aspects of heritage: it originates from video-interviews collected during an ethnographic study about post-earthquake community resilience in Italy and integrates them with a 3D-replica of the old town created using laser-scanner technology, as well as 360° panoramas of both the old and new Senerchia. This multimodal storytelling moves through a digital space that reveals the strong entanglement that exists between social rebuilding and material reconstruction in the context of catastrophic natural events. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | The film was awarded a British Association for Film, Television, and Screen Studies Innovation Award in April 2021. After the film was released, the municipality a group of young citizens of Senerchia decided to design a proposal for a Museum of the Resilience and asked me to act as Scientific Director for a grant application submitted in September 2022. The application was not successful, but we are in the process of submitting another application with the same project. The ethnographic work informing Italia Terremotata served as pilot study for the REPLACE project. |
| URL | https://www.essex.ac.uk/research-projects/italia-terremotata |
| Description | Policy Impact of "Place-centred emerging technologies for disaster management: A scoping review" |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
| Impact | In SECTION 6: "Smart city applications for public services", there is an acknowledgement that immersive technologies offer new opportunities for reconstruction phases specifically in the case of prevention and management of natural disasters. This sits within the broader framework the policy document recommends in regard to how smart applications can enhance urban services and address challenges across nine key public domains: urban and spatial planning, housing, mobility, energy, water management, waste management, prevention and management of natural disasters, safety and security, and welfare. |
| URL | https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2024/12/un_smart_city_outlook.pdf |
| Description | Horizon Europe: REWRITE - 10108135 |
| Amount | € 3,000,000 (EUR) |
| Funding ID | REWRITE - 10108135 |
| Organisation | European Commission |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | Belgium |
| Start | 09/2023 |
| End | 09/2028 |
| Title | Values-Led Design Toolkit |
| Description | The Values-Led Design Toolkit is a card-based resource designed to support and guide archaeologists and heritage professionals in foregrounding ethical considerations and embedding values in the design process of a diverse array of projects. The Values-Led Design Toolkit aims to guide the designers of research projects through the design process with five decks of cards: Values, Vision, Concept, Design and Challenge. The process starts by selecting core values to guide your experience design decisions across the three stages of Vision, Concept and Design. Each stage terminates in a checkpoint with an associated output: Vision Statement, Experience Journey Map and Prototype. The process ends with the Challenge to ensure that the developed resources are reflecting the chosen values and help uncover unconscious biases or assumptions. The toolkit is composed of: Design instructions Five decks of design cards - Values, Vision, Concept, Design and Challenge Design outputs Toolkit Board |
| Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
| Year Produced | 2024 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | The development and implementation of the Values-Led Design Toolkit in and alongside the REPLACE project allowed us to define the aims and scope of the project more clearly. We were able to define the core values of our project and ensure that we are working with communities in ways that serves and supports their wants and needs, as well as defining more clearly what our research hopes to achieve. This in turn guided our project design decisions and allowed us to give more consideration to the impact of the digital, physical and emotional components of our project. We were aware that there was the possibility of making design decisions unconsciously that may impact our communities and working practice negatively, so this process allowed us to highlight aspects of the design which may have not been focused on consciously. This process allowed us to establish a set of values that were representative of the boundaries of the project, the scope of the work, the ethical considerations that guided our project work and helped us to remain mindful of any potential challenges and ethical tensions we or the project may face. |
| URL | https://replace.org.uk/publications/ |
| Title | 360 Place0centred Video-Ethnography |
| Description | We are enhancing the use of 360 videos for video ethnography to understand the stories of places affected by natural disasters. This technique can capture multimodal elements, including environmental sounds and people's gestures, as the speakers articulate their experiences of the surrounding landscape. Our methodology allows us to 'read' and interpret the environment both as a frame for a meaningful ensemble of communicative modes and as a language itself (Scollon and Scollon, 2023) in the context of our place-centric research. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | We have an article about this methodology under revision and aim to publish the video-data in the Archaeology Data Service by the end of the project. Some of the videos can be viewed on our youtube channel (see URL below). |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UGJkVZiGbE |
| Description | REPLACE and the 58th People & Projects in Axum, Ethiopia - "Improvement of Axum Archaeological Site and Related Services" |
| Organisation | 58th People & Projects |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Matteo Baraldo was invited to Axum via the 58th People & Projects / AICS (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation) to develop a sustainability study focused on the Axum archaeological site, emphasizing the importance of vernacular architecture and its intersection with archaeological remains. It employed an ethnographic approach, incorporating direct observations, site visits, interviews, and visual documentation. The submitted preliminary report highlights the complexity of balancing heritage preservation with urbanization, displacement, and community needs. In particular, the potential for 3D digital heritage intervention using the REPLACE framework was identified as a key finding. |
| Collaborator Contribution | 58th People & Projects /AICS (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation) connected the REPLACE project with the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Axum, Ethiopia, and managed the project within the site. This enabled REPLACE to effectively contribute resources and expertise, as well as demonstrate the potential for long term resilience of the site based on Baraldo's findings, made possible by the partnership. |
| Impact | Key Findings 1. Vernacular Houses and Cultural Landscape o Traditional Axumite houses often integrate archaeological remnants and reflect socio-economic statuses. o Urbanisation, such as the grid layout introduced in the 1960s, and conflicts like the Eritrean War (1998) and Tigray War (2020-22), have severely impacted vernacular architecture and cultural heritage. o Government-led displacement of residents from traditional homes, while aimed at protecting archaeological zones, has been criticized as unsustainable and misaligned with community needs. 2. Threats to Vernacular Architecture o Urban redevelopment has altered the traditional street hierarchy, leading to the loss of houses and cultural spaces. o Conflicts have caused structural damage, looting, and displacement, further endangering heritage sites. 3. Community-Based Preservation Initiative o Axum University's initiative integrates heritage conservation with poverty reduction, focusing on a specific area, i.e. AdiKilte Kebele. o A field survey documented seven vernacular houses, revealing varied conditions and challenges, including informal re-occupation and structural vulnerabilities. 4. Technological Applications o Satellite imagery and photogrammetry were explored for mapping and documenting heritage changes. However, limited high-resolution historical imagery and technical issues in museum settings hindered progress. o A trial using low-cost 3D modelling tools demonstrated potential for preserving heritage artifacts and engaging the local community in heritage protection. Preliminary (1s round) Recommendations 1. Vernacular House Conservation o Conduct socio-economic surveys to engage communities and ensure interventions align with local needs. o Coordinate with local authorities to select houses for restoration and leverage their proximity to the museum for ethnographic displays. o Develop business plans for artisanal micro-enterprises to enhance sustainability. 2. Technological Advancements o Promote low-cost 3D modelling for documenting and preserving heritage items. o Use 3D printing to restore stolen artifacts symbolically, such as Aksumite coins, and counteract smuggling by involving locals in artifact documentation. 3. Decolonial Perspective o Advocate for community-led conservation and co-designed museum exhibits to foster local ownership. o Re evaluate narratives, such as the Queen of Sheba's cultural significance, to align with Ethiopian heritage perspectives. Conclusion Baraldo's report outlines a preliminary comprehensive strategy for preserving Axum's archaeological site and vernacular heritage. It emphasizes community involvement, sustainable development, and technological integration to ensure the long-term resilience of this culturally rich yet vulnerable area. |
| Start Year | 2024 |
| Description | "A Dash of Playfulness: Exploring the Socio-Political Significance of Digital Heritage Replicas" A talk given by REPLACE's PI delivered as part of the foundation of a new school at the University of Essex. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This talk was delivered as part of the launch of the new school of PHAIS (school of philosophical, historical, and interdisciplinary studies) at the university of Essex. Paola was invited to talk and showcase the research that is being undertaken within the department currently, and to demonstrate the value of digital heritage practice to new students. The talk was well attended, and sparked lots of questions which culminated in some students considering digital heritage as a potential thesis subject. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | "Authenticity and Cultural Heritage in the Age of Digital Replication" Matteo Baraldo |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | SRO Matteo Baraldo was invited to deliver a lecture to the postgraduate module Digital Heritage and Museums. The lecture invited students to explore the definition of authenticity and delve into the elusive notion of "aura", examining its semiotic dimensions through various forms of texts. Students were introduced to practical applications of digital heritage tools through the analysis of the REPLACE Project, with a specific focus on heritage preservation in the aftermath of natural disasters. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | "Build Back Better: Territorial Sustainability of Landscape at Risk Between Multiple Temporalities and Scales - Apice as a case study and Campania region as a field" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | PI Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco was invited by the University of Naples and the University of Paris-Belleville to deliver a talk as part of the multi-institution workshop and research event entitled; "3D Technologies for Community Resilience: Rebuilding Heritage and Sense of Place in Post-Earthquake Italy". The event was a week long research 'summer school' type event that encouraged greater understanding of Heritage Management and Sustainability for disaster prone areas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | "Contemporary Rituals and Participatory Events: Exploring new approaches to grief and remembrance" Invited Speaker |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Professional practitioners, academics, artists and businesses came together to explore new approaches to grief and remembrance, creating interdisciplinary connections in the local area and sharing knowledge through talks and workshops. Paola delivered a talk entitled "Virtual reconstruction as a means to grieve and mourn" . This event opened up discussions between different approaches to, and the management of grief, and how an interdisciplinary approach can help inform positive change. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | "Legacies in/of Place" Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The 'Legacies in/of Place' workshop explored a sense of place in relation to heritage reconstruction and community resilience. It was a co-led workshop between the REPLACE project and the Legacies of the Past project at the University of Cambridge, inviting academics from across the UK and practitioners working with heritage to share knowledge and collectively explore the impact of the past on contemporary society. The knowledge sharing helped considerably shape thoughts and ideas within the group, and led to discussions about further collaboration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | "Researching Legacies of the Past" - Cambridge Heritage Research Centre, University of Cambridge |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Paola was invited to participate in a roundtable discussion exploring the legacies of the past and its impact on the present, along with multidisciplinary colleagues and stakeholders local to the Cambridge area. As a result of this collaboration, REPLACE and "Legacies of the Past" agreed to co-produce a symposium in September 2024. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | "The Value of Codesign in Digital Heritage Practice" - Francesca Dolcetti |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | SRO Francesca Dolcetti was invited to deliver a lecture on the postgraduate module "Digital Heritage and Museums". This lecture explored the value and benefits of integrating co-design and collaborative practices in Digital Heritage as a key step to engendering more ethically-aware and socially-engaged heritage experiences. The lecture also presented studies related to museums, heritage education and community co-creation, to highlight how co-design leads to new forms of value and significance in relation to heritage and provides opportunities for participation and connection with a shared human past. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | "The psychosocial aspects of the REPLACE project" Invited guest lecturer for "Introduction to Public Health Emergency Preparedness" at John Hopkins School of Public Health |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Roughly 25 students attended the guest lecture delivered as part of the "Introduction to Public Health Emergency Preparedness" course at John Hopkins School of Public Health. The lecture explored the importance of community resilience in disaster prone areas and it's role in impacting disaster risk reduction. Students were very engaged and the course leader invited Paola to speak again. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | "The sense of grief and loss at the destruction of one's home" - Co written article translation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | A translation of an article co written by Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco and her colleague Ammar Azzouz was translated into Italian by the magazine Orient XXI for distribution to an Italian speaking audience |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://orientxxi.info/magazine/articles-en-italien/terremoto-in-turchia-e-siria-affrontare-il-dolor... |
| Description | "Towards a National Collection" conference "Transforming Collections, Unpath'd Waters and The Congruence Engine - Ethics as practice: People, data and research" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Towards a National Collection is a major five-year £18.9 million investment in the UK's world-renowned museums, archives, libraries and galleries. The Conference took place in Manchester. In 2021, TaNC initiated five major Discovery Projects aiming to investigate and harness digital technologies in order to break down the barriers between different cultural heritage collections, opening them up to new research, and enhancing opportunities for public engagement. At the conference, the TaNC Discovery Projects presented their achievements through a variety of presentations as well as dynamic and performative media. PI Paola Di Franco was invited to be part of an expert panel that explored ethics in practice based research. Paola spoke to the realities of ethical issues related to practice based partnership with industry, in relation to knowledge exchange as experienced as part of the REPLACE project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | "Travel through time/Viaggio nel tempo" - Amatrice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | "Travel through time" was a community led event centred around memories of Amatrice. The event was co-organised between the REPLACE project and Casa delle Donne (Amatrice branch), a local charity for women. The REPLACE Project showcased the digital interventions we have created of places lost in the 2016 earthquake. This activity took place alongside artists workshops that invited the community to capture and display their memories of Amatrice. Our partners Studio Miral also were invited to produce content with the REPLACE project for "'REPLACE meets BRACI' in Amatrice - Objects tell the stories of Amatrice" at this event. The community were invited to bring objects that told the story of their home, and REPLACE worked with Studio Miral and the community of Amatrice to record these stories and understand what makes this place their place. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxLEfMdI5hb1O9e_JdjVXJ5-ApmFWzMbG |
| Description | "Values-led Design for Digital Archaeology and Heritage." Online Symposium Arqueologia presente: formas e aspectos de uma disciplina em ação, Universidade Estaudal Paulista, 27 and 28 November 2023 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Senior research officer Francesca Dolcetti delievred a paper entitled "Values-led Design for Digital Archaeology and Heritage" to an online symposium: Arqueologia presente: formas e aspectos de uma disciplina em ação, Universidade Estaudal Paulista, which took place on 27 and 28 November 2023, helping to develop and inform her own ideas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | 'Living with Earthquakes' Summer School in Falerone Marche |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Paola Di Giuseppantonio, Steven Dey and Mike Gogan participated in an international Summer School being given in Falerone by the Università Politecnica delle Marche in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, led by architecture Professor Antonio Antonello Alici (Member of the Advisory Board for REPLACE). The course titled, 'Living with Earthquakes' examined various aspects of earthquakes in Italy from building design to geology, to post earthquake restorations, to the politics of earthquake restorations. As part of this course Steven Dey prepared and delivered a day of architectural 3D scanning training to the international architecture students on this course. This trip and the course proved a perfect introduction to the earthquake situation in Italy by covering many relevant aspects in a short period of time. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1967363350118322&set=pb.100054550925429.-2207520000. |
| Description | Accumoli e le sue Radici |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Accumoli e le sue Radici - SRO Francesca Dolcetti showcased REPLACE's ongoing work in developing innovative 3D interventions in collaboration with ThinkSee3D and The Virtual Experience Company to the community of Accumoli. From WebGL interactive environments and digital archives to VR reconstructions, we demonstrated to local and regional stakeholders how working closely with the Accumoli community to explore how 3D technologies can aid in rebuilding the community's heritage and sense of place after the earthquake. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Advisory Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | Advisory Board meetings with colleagues and mentors, where the PI presented her research, and invited questions and discussion regarding her research and practice. The PI was able to demonstrate the current progress of research and generate questions outputs and methodologies from colleagues to reflect on and implement as she sees fit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Advisory Meeting |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Advisory Board meetings with colleagues and mentors, where the PI presented her research, and invited questions and discussion regarding her research and practice. The PI was able to demonstrate the current progress of research and generate questions outputs and methodologies from colleagues to reflect on and implement as she sees fit. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Building Museum Collections on the Street: The Museum of the Resilience in Senerchia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This activity has not take place yet, but we have been awarded a 10.200 Impact Accelerator grant from the University of Essex for this. The PI of the project obtained an Impact Accelerator Grant from the University of Essex to develop a project aimed to establish the basis of the first Museum of the Resilience in Italy, in Senerchia, one of the towns most affected by the 1980 earthquake in South Italy. The project proposes a participatory creation of the museum by engaging a community in the donation of artefacts and creation of their associated narratives. These are the main objectives of this proposed engagement project: 1. To create a collection of objects and stories linked to sense of place, which will form the basis of the Museum of the Resilience in Senerchia. 2. To promote social inclusion and the enhancement and protection of heritage and sense of place in areas affected by recurrent earthquakes. 3. To strengthen links between heritage past and futures in areas affected by recurrent earthquakes in Italy. To achieve these objectives, we will ask citizens of Senerchia to bring, in established places (squares, civic centres, streets), an object that has an evocative force and represents their attachment to the place they inhabit. An apparently ordinary object, but which tells a story linked to the identity of their town. We will videotape and photograph participants while they tell the story of the objects and their link to the village and wider region. Through this grassroot collective project, communities themselves will give life to a small biography of their place, thus re-constructing a piece of the private and public identity of a territory and its people, which is a story marked by recurrent destructions and reconstructions caused by major earthquakes. These objects, through the story of their owners and our interpretations, will be displayed in temporary exhibition space created at the end of the project, as well as online, on social media pages created for the project. Why Senerchia? The proposed project will empower communities by reconnecting them to their local heritage and allow them to rebuild a sense of belonging to the lost place. Community participation is embedded in the design of the proposed project, which means that volunteer members of the community under analysis will be involved in it from the start. The final outcome will be to display videos and objects lent or donated by the volunteer participants in an exhibition organised by the Portfolio holders for Heritage, Culture, and the Environment, municipality of Senerchia in August 2023. We will present our work to the whole community and collect impact data through surveys. The final exhibition will function as a stepping-stone event for the establishment of the Museum of Resilience, an initiative conceptualised by young citizens of Senerchia (AV) with whom I have an established relationship through my UKRI FLF Project REPLACE. The leads of this museum plan have asked me to aid the design and realisation of the Museum. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | CIVVIH Scientific Symposium, September 2024 - Cultural Heritage of the Displaced, Case studies of L'Aquila, Amatrice and Accumoli, Italy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | PI Paola Di Franco presented as part of an expert panel at the CIVVIH Scientific Symposium in September 2024, hosted in Cappadocia, Turkey as part of the CIVVIH 2024 Annual Meeting, part of the ICOMOS International Committee on Historic Cities, Towns and Villages. Abstract: As a group of experts on cultural heritage, infrastructure, and health, we visited the devastated town of Amatrice and were struck by its abandonment and rich cultural heritage. The mayor, also a resident, recounted pulling his family from the rubble after the 2016 earthquake, and explained why many in temporary housing refuse to return to the newly reconstructed buildings. Conversely, the museum curator described efforts of preserving heritage items and shared stories of individuals reconstructing lost churches in miniature for emotional healing. This presentation situates the Amatrice case study within broader issues of heritage and displacement. Exploring personal and collective narratives, we examine how displacement severs cultural ties and threatens community identity, yet also re-negotiates place and place-attachment. Our presentation advocates for an interdisciplinary approach to heritage reconstruction, integrating heritage, infrastructure, and health. Our goal is to reflect on the broader implications of rebuilding historic places, as discussed within the platform of CIVVIH. This collaborative panel is the result of REPLACE's involvement with the "Sustainable Futures Network". |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Digitising Disaster |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited Speaker, University of East Anglia Debates in Digital Humanities Seminar Series |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://tockify.com/arts.and.humanities/detail/609/1666180800000 |
| Description | Funding for Practice Research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Invited talk on Practice as Research. How to attract large funding for Practice Research |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://easternarc.ac.uk/parworkshop/ |
| Description | Guest lectures |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Principal investigator Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco and senior research officers Matteo Baraldo and Francesca Dolcetti have all contributed guest lectures to undergraduate and postgraduate taught classes in the School of Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | ICOMOS AGA (Area 5 - Disaster and Conflict Resilient Heritage) - "Integrating Cultural Heritage into Disaster Displacement Planning and Response" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | As an expert member of ICORP-ICOMOS, PI Paola Di Franco was invited to participate in a panel regarding "Disaster and Conflict Resilient Heritage" . This event took place in Ouro Preto, Brazil as part of ICOMOS/BRAZIL's AGA 2024, and participated in SESSION 5P.7. Abstract: As climate change heightens disaster risk worldwide (Ritchie and Rosado 2022), and displacement due to conflict and natural disasters have been on the rise (UNDESA 2022), the necessity of engaging cultural heritage in disaster risk planning and disaster management is increasingly imperative. While the primary focus of disaster planning and response has, to date, largely been on the safeguarding of cultural heritage from natural and conflict disasters, this presentation shifts the focus to the retention, repair and recreation of heritage in displaced communities. This paper presents the current synthesis of ongoing field research examining how displacement severs cultural ties and threatens community identity, yet also re-negotiates place and place-attachment in new environments. The field research includes displacement case studies of extreme storm events and conflict in Ahmedabad, India; earthquake disasters in 2009 and 2016 in central Italy; violent displacement to the Zaatri refugee camp in Jordan; and resettlement communities in Amsterdam and Seattle. The synthesis of these case studies at different stages in the disaster and displacement "chain", reflects a new theoretical framework for cultural heritage and disaster displacement. Exploring personal and collective narratives, this framework advocates for an approach to disaster preparedness and response that integrates cultural heritage into the planning for disaster, immediate response to disaster, and the often-lengthy process of rebuilding, locally or in a resettlement context. Whether displaced people have recently left "home" and are in a refugee camp or resettlement community, or have experienced localized dislocation, we see similar behaviours and a "longing for home." These behaviours include a veneration of the tangible and intangible heritage left behind: the cultural heritage that symbolizes "home." The case studies have identified positive cultural heritage actions that support community resilience by reducing individual and collective trauma, providing hope and tangible prospects of the future, as well as connecting refugee communities with their cultural heritage left behind. These have all identified a strong link between place and heritage attachment and trauma recovery and overall mental health. The results of this collective research identify significant improvements to be made to all phases of the disaster recovery process that support community resilience. This activity is a result of Paola's expert membership of ICORP- ICOMOS |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://aga2024.icomos.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AGA_2024_PROGRAM_web_13_11.pdf |
| Description | International Resilience Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | As part pf their membership of the International Resilience Network, REPLACE co-led a site visit & research trip in Italy for a week of meetings, workshops, and earthquake site visits. The Resilience Network was launched by ARU Cambridge through a conference REPLACE was invited to entitled "Sustainable Futures". The Resilience Network brings together themes of Heritage, Health, and Infrastructures. Building from the partnership established at the "Sustainable Futures Conference (June 2023), the REPLACE project was invited to collaborate as a partner to the 'International Resilience Network' for a series of knowledge exchange workshops. REPLACE co-led the 'cultural heritage' strand of the knowledge exchange workshop exploring how different disciplines approach disasters and how these multidisciplinary approaches intersect. The findings from this knowledge exchange informed a presentation made to the ICOMOS CIVVIH Scientific Symposium. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Interview on National Polish Radio |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Interview on National Polish Radio about the role of 3D reconstructions of lost heritage in the context of Natural Disasters. Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco (project PI) and Steven Day (project collaborator) were both interviewed. The PI introduced the concept of "Technoethnography", which is the methodology we will develop for the REPLACE project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.polskieradio.pl/8/404/Artykul/3011251,Poranek-Dwojki-30-lipca-godz-0747 |
| Description | Navigating the Sense of Place: Key Challenges and Affordances of 360-degree Media in Ethnographic Research |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Senior research officer Matteo Baraldo delivered a paper to peers as part of the 'Immersive Ethnographies' symposium organised by the REPLACE project, where he was able to develop his ideas. Other participants expressed their interest in the project and the potential of the work moving forward. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | REPLACE Lab Launch Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Lab Launch allowed the Replace Project to present the project to academic peers and colleagues that the University of Essex, as well as colleagues from other nearby universities, professional services staff and professional partners. We showcased some of the research already undertaken on the project, and introduced the team. Being able to put names to faces and have face to face interactions after the Covid 19 period was incredibly helpful for us to connect with new colleagues, and galvanised discussion about the uses of technologies and what other local projects could benefit from this technological insight, as well asinviting more ideas about impact and engagement. REPLACE was able to facilitate prospective new partnerships between academic colleagues and other industry professionals. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | REPLACE meets BRACI - Accumoli |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Community event where Accumoli residents were invited to share their stories via objects of their place, and explore their feelings of identity and belonging in light of the 2016 earthquake. Residents of Accumoli were invited to bring objects that told the story of their home, and the REPLACE project worked with Studio Miral and the community of Accumoli to record these stories and understand what makes this place their place. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxLEfMdI5hb3FEtuWQYv3WZCZkgbNhVyA&feature=shared |
| Description | REPLACE-athon (a three day series of workshops for students to gain an understanding of 3d technologies and their uses in heritage) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | This three-day workshop was intended to give an insight into the different uses of 3d technologies in heritage practices, as well as to demonstrate the strengths of different 3d platforms. The students who attended were mainly from heritage studies background, but several postgraduate students with interest in the project also attended the workshops over the three-day period. REPLACE invited the company partners ThinkSee3D and the Virtual experience company to showcase their work and demonstrate the techniques they have been using to deliver technological outputs for the project, after which some students expressed an interest in and participated in populating the webGL intervention. At least two participants explicitly expressed their want to participate further in the REPLACE project, and we are currently exploring the potential of an exhibition led by one of these students for the REPLACE project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Radici Accumolesi/The roots of Accumoli |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A One-year grant was awarded to the town to explore the stories of Accumoli. This was awarded (October 2023) by the Association Radici Accumolesi. We are included as collaborators on this grant, with our in-kind participation for the creation of 3D contents. There will be a creation of a virtual community acting as a space of memory, including an interactive community map of the Accumoli area and a virtual community square, accessible to all thanks to technology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023,2024 |
| Description | Radici ed Ali/Roots & Wings - stories, objects and people recount the tale of Senerchia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | Roots and wings was developed with the community of Senerchia to explore how the community felt connected to the place they were from, and what objects represented their own 'sense of place.' Working with Studio Miral and a local organiser, REPLACE interviewed members of the community about Senerchia, creating videos and collecting objects that were exhibited locally. This allowed us to gather data from the community of Senerchia in an environment led by them, and left them with an exhibition and series of outputs that showcased their inputs to the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/OMgZ_bSW1yA?feature=shared |
| Description | Symposium - IMMERSIVE ETHNOGRAPHIES : QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS IN PRACTICE |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Immersive ethnographies was organised by the REPLACE project in order to introduce the project to leading academics in the field of ethnography, and explore the state of the field. REPLACE presented one of eight papers (given by SRO Matteo Baraldo) and Paola Di Franco led the panel discussion. We brought together academics and industry professionals to encourage exploration of the differences between practice, research and practice as research. As a result of this, we have been invited to further events within this group, and facilitated relationships that have allowed us to develop our ideas to publish. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Values-led Participatory Practices in Digital Heritage: A Community-led Approach to Technological Interventions in the Context of Natural Catastrophes |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Senior research officer Francesca Dolcetti delivered a paper at the EAA (European Association of Archaeologists) Conference, Belfast, 30 August - 2 September 2023 detailing her work undertaken on the REPLACE project and how this research sits within her broader academic interests and outputs. This activity helped Francesca shape, develop and reflect on her own arguments. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |