Architecting Cultural Spaces

This presentation addresses the evolution of the technologies of virtual representation in the cultural milieu. Using project case studies from a decade of experience in this field, the presentation brings to the fore the ways in which these technologies both enforce and challenge traditional ideas of what a museum is or should be. The paper examines the evolution of simple virtual representation to modeled reconstruction and deconstruction and thence to virtual replacement of artifacts in situ at their point of creation or discovery. The presentation concludes with a look forward to the concept of massively multi-user virtual community spaces that permit a participatory experience of virtual cultural heritage.