Digital reconstructions and interactive visualisations of lost heritage as part of a virtual learning experience. Dissemination of heritage knowledge through digital guides and online platforms: A case study - Mackintosh House, 6 Florentine Street [dissertation]

The following project explores the use of digital technology in terms of popularizing and disseminating knowledge about lost heritage. It explores how use of latest information technology solutions can enhance learning experience by covering aspects that fail to be adequately represented with the use of traditional, non-digital means of transmitting knowledge. The general focus is given to the study of this how mobile applications integrating different recording and digital reconstruction technologies can be used to provide more complex and engaging ways of teaching about cultural heritage. Additionally, the role of online sharing platforms is being assessed in terms of making digital recordings more accessible to the public.To accurately assess the benefits of such digital tools, practical part of the project focuses on the case study of the Mackintosh House and its original premises. The history of those lost premises is introduced as a Unity engine based application that acts as a form of virtual guide. The guide is meant to enhance the visits to the Mackintosh House reassembled interiors by presenting users with additional knowledge about the building that no longer exists. Despite carefully recreated interiors, traditional exhibition at The Hunterian cannot offer the full scope of knowledge about the history of the original building that Mackintosh lived from 1906. There is a lack of sufficient visual information about the building itself. To address this problem, following project is exploring the process of creating and utilizing digital reconstruction techniques. With the use of 3d modelling software, Unity engine and some open sharing platforms, an interactive, visual guide is created. Another aim of the research is too assess the ways in which irreversibly lost context can be recreated digitally. It also reflects on the idea of this how heritage knowledge can be delivered in the context of the dynamic, highly democratized web. By using the different heritage sources, types of data, media together within virtual online environment - the researched subject can reach wider audience, and can be disseminated independently of static physical reconstructions