Digital technologies and physical change

Charlotte Skene Catling, Valentino Tignanelli – Revitalising Industrial Heritage: the Aalto Silo Project

Skene Catling de la Peña studio and Factum Foundation are repurposing Alvar and Aino Aalto’s first modernist industrial building, the AaltoSilo, in Oulu’s Meri-Toppila district (Finland). The silo blends functionality with bold design, reflecting Aalto’s lasting architectural influence. Since 2020, innovative interventions have focused on preserving this landmark of Finland’s industrial heritage, navigating both climatic challenges and social change.

–

Venanzia Rizzi – Material Continuity in Industrial Heritage

The adaptive reuse of another of Aalto’s buildings within the Meri-Toppila industrial complex focuses on industrial heritage, materiality, and the revitalisation of urban areas in the Arctic context. The building was recently converted into a climbing gym with facilities for the local community, preserving the original modernist structure and highlighting its design.

–

Eeva Huuhtanen – Aalto’s Rovaniemi: past, present and the creative future

After the Lapland War left Rovaniemi in ruins, Alvar Aalto was commissioned to reimagine the city. In 1945, he designed the iconic ‘Reindeer Antler city plan’ (Poronsarviasemakaava) and continued working on key buildings through the 1960s. Today, Rovaniemi is a UNESCO Creative City of Architecture, with cultural programmes celebrating Aalto’s legacy, the preservation of its heritage, and the city’s ongoing contribution to contemporary architecture and cultural tourism in Lapland.

Carlos Bayod Lucini – Recomposing Meaning: digital preservation of remnants

2.5D and 3D digitisation transform historical vestiges into models that can recreate objects physically, digitally reconnect fragments, and unlock new narratives-but choosing the right techniques and methods is essential for the best results.

–

Stefania Gerevini – The Torcello Altarpiece: from the photogrammetric recording to its digital reconstruction

From the thirteenth century to the early modern period, Venetian church interiors gleamed with brilliant gold and silver altarpieces and frontals, many of which could be opened and closed horizontally to reveal and conceal multiple layers of imagery. Today, we usually perceive them as static ornaments, but their digital reconstruction restores their original functionality while enhancing their study.

–

Francisco Prado-Vilar – The reconstruction of fragmented heritage: the stone Choir of Santiago de Compostela

The Choir of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, sculpted by Master Mateo at the beginning of the 12th century, was partially destroyed in the 17th century, with the remaining pieces scattered and relocated. Advanced digital reconstruction-and the potential physical reconstruction of the choir-will allow it to be restored to its original appearance.

Javier Ors Ausín – Minnette De Silva. The Online Archive of a Pioneer Modernist Architect in Sri Lanka

The World Monuments Fund and the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka are building local capacity to train professionals in digital preservation, including the 3D recording of historic buildings, as part of a project celebrating the work of Sri Lankan architect Minnette De Silva.

–

Helen Philon – Restoring Memory: The Tomb of Ahmad Shah and the Preservation of Deccan Heritage

The tomb of Ahmad Shah I (1391-1442) is housed within a medieval mosque, part of a complex that includes other royal family tombs in Ahmedabad, India. Preserving the mosque and its rich mural decorations is essential for understanding the historical, socio-religious, and economic context, especially given the scarcity of textual sources from the period. Recent 3D recordings will enable a digital restoration of both the structure and its painted walls.

–

Imran Khan – Educational initiatives in South-Asia and the world

Alongside developing new technologies and strategies for digital preservation, Factum Foundation aims to share best practices through hands-on workshops and recording campaigns.

Photogrammetry, often combined with other techniques, is a key part of the training programmes offered to institutions in South-Asia and around the world.

Mari Lending, Erik Langdalen – Provenance in architecture: the “Provenance Projected” project

While provenance traditionally traces the chronological history of objects in circulation (artworks, documents, archaeological fragments, natural specimens, etc.), Provenance Projected extends this concept to architecture. It reframes architectural provenance as a dynamic phenomenon-indeed, a forward-looking and creative instrument for change-used to interpret the past, present, and future potential of buildings.

–

Adam Lowe, Ferdinand Saumarez Smith – Repatriation issues and complex objects: the Bakor Monoliths, the Igbo Ukwu and Benin bronzes

Thanks to online catalogues and digital collections, it is now easier to trace the provenance of objects dispersed around the world, identify fragments held in museums, and determine their original location. However, when addressing repatriation and restitution, it is essential to rethink concepts of ownership and preservation and to develop practical solutions-often involving the creation of both digital and physical copies.

John Barrett, William Owen – The portable Selene Photometric Stereo System and its role in research strategies

The Selene Photometric Stereo System has transformed how scholars, curators, conservators, and restorers engage with the digitisation of documents, artworks, natural history collections, and cultural heritage. What new possibilities emerge when this technology becomes portable-capable of recording fragments at a billion pixels per square inch?

–

Santiago del Bosque Arias, Lucía Pereira-Pardo – Combining photometric stereo data with hyperspectral imaging (RIS): a pilot scientific investigation

For the first time, high-resolution 3D data from the Selene Photometric Stereo System has been combined with hyperspectral imaging. By identifying pigments through their unique spectral “fingerprints,” this integration opens new possibilities for studying cultural heritage-without ever touching the objects.