Social Virtual Environments: Opportunities and Workflows in

Cultural Heritage and Education in Architecture

Elisabetta Caterina Giovannini

Department of Architecture and Design - DAD, Politecnico di Torino, Valentino Castle,

Viale Pier Andrea Mattioli 39, Turin, Italy

Keywords: Virtual Reality, Mozilla Hubs, Virtual Exhibitions, Virtual Tours, VR Headset, Web-Based Applications.

Abstract: The paper analyses the use of social virtual environments in cultural heritage and education in Architecture.

Specifically, it aims to trace state-of-the-art and possible developments of a web-based solution based on 3D

models and diverse content to create virtual environments that remain rare in the disciplinary field of

architectural digital representation and cultural heritage sector but widely used in education. The applicative

scenarios presented, using Hubs by Mozilla and Spoke, were developed at the Department of Architecture

and Design DAD of Politecnico di Torino. They comprise a series of experiences in communicating didactic

activities on the TeleArchitettura TA platform and some collaborations with various museums in Italy.

1 INTRODUCTION

Extended Reality (XR) is a term that comprises

diverse technologies: virtual reality (VR), augmented

reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). The conceptual

definition of XR has been outlined in the reality-

virtuality continuum that classifies the various

possible combinations of digital and physical

elements. (Milgram et al., 1995)

Virtual reality is an interactive, participatory

environment that could sustain many remote users

sharing a virtual place (Gigante, 1993).

VR includes computer applications and programs that

create, visualize, and interact with virtual spaces and

environments. This technology may consist of

graphics engines, VR-developed environments, and

specific digital solutions for education,

entertainment, training, and others.

Augmented Reality (AR) is a system that

enhances the real world by superimposing computer-

generated information on top of it. It can include

diverse types of information, annotations, audio,

images, videos, and 3D models, giving users the

perception of interaction with the real world (Wellner

et al., 1993).

Finally, Mixed Reality (MR) is a hybrid

environment where real-world and digital objects

coexist. The user can be immersed in the physical

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4656-1391

environment using, for example, semitransparent

displays or VR headsets and interact with digital

elements visible through them (Costanza et al., 2009).

In recent years, significant advances in hardware

and software technology have made extended reality

technologies more widespread and accessible.

COVID-19 has further accelerated the diffusion of

technologies such as virtual and augmented reality in

education and for the promotion and enhancement of

cultural heritage (Alnagrat et al., 2022; Nemo, 2021).

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, new

methods and tools have been developed, changing

how individuals unable to see each other in person

can communicate. In parallel, educational processes

have also seen platforms such as Teams and Zoom

used at all levels of education for online or blended

lectures (Hagler, 2022). However, some platforms

with prosocial intents allowed the creation of new

spaces, digitally capable of replicating in-person

experiences to interact with others. This type of

technology differs from the generic virtual reality,

where the user is alone within the space. A prosocial

virtual environment enables people to embody a

virtual avatar and interact with other users in an

immersive, three-dimensional virtual space

(Martínez-Canos, et al., 2023; Large et al. 2022a;

Kolesnichenko, 2019). This path is already well

established in gamification and the edutainment

772

Giovannini, E.

Social Virtual Environments: Opportunities and Workﬂows in Cultural Heritage and Education in Architecture.

DOI: 10.5220/0012758500003693

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2024) - Volume 1, pages 772-783

ISBN: 978-989-758-697-2; ISSN: 2184-5026

context, which have created new social presence

strategies.

In this direction, Social Virtual Environments

SVE have boomed in use during the pandemic period,

and the European Union also contributed to financing

specific learning units for first and second-grade

schools. The intention was to test and set up best

practices for these social and virtual learning

environments. (Abbate, 2022) Building with Bits was

a Europeana Initiative mentoring program and

educational challenge contributing to the New

European Bauhaus movement by inviting students

and educators to design beautiful and sustainable

spaces with Mozilla Hubs (Europeana Pro, 2021).

In universities, on the other hand, new systems for

design studio teaching and the development of virtual

environments, metaverses, and virtual exhibitions

have been created, for example, to answer the need to

create habitats for shared exchange, reviews, and for

the final presentation of the designed projects

themselves. (Smithson, 2021) An early prototype of

this type of experience was conceptualized in Italy

under the name Hyspace (Valenti, 2007).

Regarding the Galleries and Contemporary Art

sector, virtual exhibitions have also increased thanks

to the non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the Crypto Art

within the Metaverse. (Terry and Keeney, 2022) An

iconic initiative was the 2020 edition of Ars

Electronica which was entirely developed online

using Mozilla Hubs and creating 60 rooms with a

multitude of contents (Ars Electronica, 2020).

Again, in 2022, Mozilla Hubs was contacted by

conceptual artist Ashley Zelinskie on a project with the

NASA James Webb team. The output was the New

York exhibition Unfold the Universe: First Light. The

exhibition features her VR artwork Unfolding the

Universe: A NASA Webb VR Experience.

Indeed, the pandemic has accelerated the

digitization of cultural heritage, with museum

institutions needing to reach the public through social

media, virtual tours, and new media, including

gamification and virtual exhibitions. However, it

remains a partially unknown tool in cultural heritage;

the role of low-cost and less time-consuming VR

solutions should be analyzed and understood to

highlight its criticality and potential compared to

other widely used extended reality tools, such as

Unity or Unreal engines, which Heritage Institutions

generally prefer.

This became quite clear in drawing and

representation, which comprises the knowledge of

digital tools to represent design projects. However, it

also has documentation and representation of cultural

heritage for its purposes.

Therefore, this research focuses on standardizing

processes in creating web-based digital content that

differs from the existing workflow for creating

environments and models for game engines.

Specifically, the paper analyzes the web application

Mozilla Hubs and some Hubs rooms developed to

describe diverse and heterogeneous applicative

scenarios. The Hubs infrastructure consists of a 3D

scene hosted by Mozilla servers called Hubs room.

Each room has a specific URL address that people can

use to reach the SVR space simultaneously and where

they can speak, chat, and interact in various ways with

others and within the digital environment.

Figure 1: Hubs User Interface.

2 HUBS BY MOZILLA

The project was born in 2014, starting with the

AltspaceVR solution, which was, at that time, first

tested with one of the prototype visors on the market,

an Oculus HD. AltspaceVR was envisioned as a

system capable of loading a mobile web browser into

a 3D VR environment. It was developed within Unity

in a project called Unity Client. Following its failure

in 2017, it was evident not only that a new way of

communicating and socializing online had been

created but also that the biggest beneficiaries of this

type of technology were those who could not leave

their homes due to illness or social anxiety. Hubs by

Mozilla was then released by The Hubs Team in 2018

as a system based on WebVR technology, which

allowed graphics to be rendered on VR viewers using

the browser. Alongside creating an immersive digital

environment, there is also the possibility of meeting

with other users using personal avatars. In 2019, the

COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the expected digital

transition for virtual social environments, which was

previously unthinkable (Fodor, 2020).

Unfortunately, just as with AltspaceVR, which

Microsoft purchased in 2017 and shut down in 2023

(McVeigh-Schultz, 2019), the Mozilla Hubs

Social Virtual Environments: Opportunities and Workﬂows in Cultural Heritage and Education in Architecture

773

adventure has also come to an end. The servers will

be shut down on May 31, 2024.

In late 2022, Fodor also released a possible

alternative to Hubs: Webspaces. The novel solution is

a new way to create self-hosted 3D worlds on the web

using HTML. Webspaces don’t just run on the web

but are built into the web and can be hosted in a

GitHub repository. (Fodor, 2022) In particular, the

new solution differs from Hubs in its ability to use

vox files, a voxel-based file description used to

represent assets for 3D games and virtual

environments such as Minecraft and MagicaVoxel.

Despite the ominous news and the need to

understand how to migrate content developed from

Hubs to Webspaces, the paper analyzes some

application experiences in the literature that have

addressed the development of a social virtual

environment using Hubs by Mozilla as a tool.

3 HUBS IN LITERATURE

The analysis started by searching for articles, even

those that were not indexed, using the Google Scholar

platform. The keywords used were Mozilla Hubs,

social virtual reality, and prosocial.

Forty articles, covering the period between 2019

and 2023, were identified and divided according to

the year of publication. This identified an incremental

increase in scientific production on the topic,

consistent with the application's release and

progressive deployment in recent years.

Figure 2: Analysis of references according to years of

publication.

These resources are joined by other contributions

collected through online searches that are mainly found

in the form of blogs or web news. Another interesting

research tool turned out to be the Adobe Bēhance

portal. Bēhance is the leading online platform for

presenting and discovering creative works. Indeed, by

using the words Mozilla Hubs within the platform's

search engine, it was possible to see how many artists

have used the platform to showcase virtual

environments created online, documenting them

through presentations, portfolios, and videos. This is in

line with one of the new professional figures that

emerged in conjunction with the advent of Web 3.0 and

metaverse: the ‘content creator,’ which does not

involve only individuals, e.g., YouTubers, influencers,

or tiktokers, but also companies and cultural

organizations, including museums.

Analyzing the forty papers, it is possible to

categorize them according to three main applicative

scenarios: learning environments and education (blue),

social activities and online events (red), and cultural

heritage and creative art solutions (yellow). Other

papers that have already been cited address literature

reviews or methodological approaches to analyzing

prosocial activities within virtual spaces (green).

Table 1: List of analyzed references.

Cheng et al. (2022)

Duester et al. (2023)

Kolensnichenko et al. (2019)

Dziwis et al. (2023)

Martínez-Cano et al. (2023)

Flyntz et al. (2023)

McVeigh-Schultz et al. (2019)

Giovannini (2023a)

Osborne et al. (2023)

Giovannini (2023b)

Wiliamson et al. (2021)

Giovannini & Bono (2023)

Gomes et al. (2021)

Giovannini et al. (2023a)

Gonsalves et al. (2021)

Hagler et al. (2022)

Kumari et al. (2023)

Lin, J. (2023)

Large et al. (2022)

Tsiamalou et al. (2023)

Le et al. (2020)

Cowie et al. (2022)

Lee et al. (2021)

Eriksson (2022)

Li et al. (2021)

Hallewell et al. (2022)

Shatilov et al. (2023)

Herman et al. (2022)

Abbate, 2022

Lam et al. (2022)

Anumolu et al. (2021)

Nirbaya et al. (2023)

Asino et al. (2022)

O'Hagan et al. (2023)

Bedolla et al. (2021)

Poolsawas et al. (2023)

Bredikhina et al. (2020)

Qian (2022)

Canniff et al. (2022)

Revianti et al. (2022)

4 HUBS EXPERIENCES

The series of experiences presented here were

conducted at the prototype level both in the field of

Cultural Heritage enhancement and in the field of

project education in Architecture.

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

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The workflows used in both fields to develop six

digital environments highlight the main differences

between a virtual exhibition for cultural heritage and a

virtual display for project education. They also address

the different approaches to creating digital assets,

including text, audio, video, images, and 3D models.

The choice of Mozilla Hubs for the experiences

developed was mainly based on two main factors:

ease of use and the possibility of having a web-based

system to access and enjoy the digital environments

created. Another factor that influenced the choice was

the possibility of having an additional tool, also

developed by Mozilla, that would serve to create 3D

scenes: Spoke by Mozilla. This type of web-based

application does not require the installation of

specific software. Still, it is based on retrieving

resources already available on the web, interfacing,

for example, with online 3D platforms used today as

digital galleries or 3D repositories. The proposed

projects mainly used SketchFab as the primary 3D

models repository and GitHub to store images and

audio tracks. Different YouTube accounts were also

used to store and retrieve videos.

Figure 3: Spoke elements for creating the 3D scene.

From the virtual environment design perspective,

digital assets can be considered as part of a digital

ecosystem with a hierarchy between a ‘container’ and

its ‘content.’

‘Container’ means the virtual environment with

its three-dimensional features that may or may not

reflect the physical features of a real environment or

digital environments that do not respond to real

physical laws. ‘Content,’ on the other hand, is the set

of resources that populate the created digital

environment.

Part of this category are, for example, the objects

in a museum collection or the exhibition layout itself

(3D), but also the texts and infographics (1D), videos,

and images (2D) that create the storytelling paths and

narratives within the 3D scene. Audio that narrates

and accompanies visitors during the immersive

environment visit can also coexist within the system.

The aim is to generate imagery and storytelling

models where the immersive and shared experience

plays a key role. In addition, the platform also allows

the inclusion of animations and physical simulations

within the environment, increasing the sense of

interaction between the user and the digital

environment. This web-based solution introduces a

novel way of fruition that is no longer passive but

active, interactive, and participatory. Many users can

join the Hubs room (container and content) and

interact not only with the contents but also with other

people and their avatars.

4.1 Cultural Heritage Sector

The first three experiences concern repurposing

museum environments and collections from the

National Museum in Ravenna, the Egyptian Museum

in Turin, and the Museum of Passion in Sordevolo.

These Social Virtual Environments (SVE) enhance

and communicate cultural heritage, tangible and

intangible, through different types of content: texts,

images, 360° spherical panoramas, videos, and 3D

models. Creating the scenes involved digitizing

museum collections (content) and using three-

dimensional solid modeling processes for the

environment (container).

The ’content,’ resulting from reverse engineering

processes, was also retopologized to reduce its MB

size. Sometimes, the ‘container’ was also simplified

to create a low-poly scene that still evokes real

environments using textures developed by

photogrammetric acquisition processes.

Both 3D elements for ‘container’ and ‘content’

were stored in a SketchFab account to be retrievable

by their URL addresses. To satisfy the platform

requirements, each 3D model, including 3D mesh,

textures, and any other file included with the model,

should be under 200 MB in size.

4.1.1 ‘Porta Aurea Hall’ at the

Archeological Museum of Ravenna

Inside the hall at the National Museum of Ravenna,

entitled 'Porta Aurea Hall,' which consists of two

main rooms, there are numerous fragments, some of

them belonging to the Porta Aurea, an ancient Roman

gate commissioned by Emperor Claudius in 42. B.C.

Today, no trace of the ancient monument remains

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775

except where it must have stood, near the Ravenna

walls where the ruins of two circular towers that

framed it are still located. The project for the virtual

environment of the Porta Aurea Hall has the primary

objective of providing more information concerning

the monument and its original appearance according

to past documentary heritage, including drawings and

sketches of illustrious authors, including Andrea

Palladio, Pirro Ligorio, and Sangallo the Young.

The digital replica of the environment (container)

is intended to simulate the room as it appears in

reality, but it is completely dedicated to the

monument's narrative. In the scene, all fragments that

do not belong to Porta Aurea have been removed, and

the spaces have been used to display historical and

archival documents, a timeline of historical

representations, survey drawings, and a hypothesis of

virtual reconstruction displayed with referenced

fragments, addressing the theme of documentation

and representation of a vanished architectural asset.

The environment can be used entirely in shared mode

with other users, allowing for example, a distance-

guided virtual tour. However, the solution doesn’t

allow to interact with the exhibition elements because

the individual institutions copyright the documentary

material (Giovannini, 2023a).

Table 2: ‘Porta Aurea Hall’ SVE project analysis.

Goal

A virtual exhibition repurposing nowadays layout with

content focused on Porta Aurea fragments and

historical/archival sources.

Container Specifications

Container

3D technique

- Solid modeling from point-cloud of an

existing room

- materials with reality-based textures

Container

3D repository

- n. 1, 3D model

- SketchFab

Type of Content

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Type of Content Interactions

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Content specifications

Content

3D technique

- Photogrammetric acquisition

- retopologization processes

- materials with reality-based textures

Content

3D repository

- n. 3, 3D models

- SketchFab

Content

2D repository

- n. 10, images

- GitHub

Figure 4: Images of the SVE of the ‘Porta Aurea Hall’ at

the National Museum in Ravenna.

4.1.2 EMEA Collection at Egyptian Museum

in Turin

The 'Expedition Models of Egyptian Architectures'

EMEA collection consists of fifteen wooden

maquettes, part of a collection stored in depots of the

Egyptian Museum in Turin. The maquettes, dated to

the early 1800s, were created to show to the large

public the exotic wonders of Egypt and Nubian

temples. The collection was investigated from

multiple aspects in the funded international project

entitled B.A.C.K. TO T.H.E. F.U.T.U.RE.

Part of the project was employed in the

photogrammetric acquisition of wooden objects and

testing new tools and web-based methodologies for

their fruition (Mafrici and Giovannini, 2020). Virtual

and immersive environment reconstruction activities

also complemented parallel historical research

activities. The research also involved the Institute of

Heritage Science ISPC-CNR in developing a game

that re-proposes the collection in its past

configuration in the Egyptian Museum, which is

extremely real and immersive (Lo Turco et al., 2020).

However, the limitations of the application Unreal

Engine do not allow for wide-ranging dissemination,

effectively making the activity little known and not

usable by the public (Giovannini et al., 2023).

The subsequent experimentation here presented

took up the 'experimental' challenge of repurposing

the digital assets (container and content) developed

for the game at a lower resolution that could,

however, make the environment usable through web-

based technology using Mozilla Hubs, Spoke,

SketchFab, and GitHub (Giovannini, 2023b).

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According to historical pictures and

documentation, the scene also comprises Sekhmet

statues. Near each maquette is the archival

documentation (planche) corresponding to the

Temple depicted by each wooden model.

Table 3: ‘Expedition Models of Egyptian Architectures’

SVE project analysis.

Goal

A virtual exhibition with a historical layout repurposed

based on documents and historical/archival sources.

Container Specifications

Container

3D technique

- Solid modeling from CAD of an existing

room

- no texture/clay visualization

Container

3D repository

- n. 1, 3D model

- SketchFab

Type of Content

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Type of Content Interactions

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Content specifications

Content

3D technique

- Photogrammetric acquisition

- retopologization processes

- materials with reality-based textures

Content

3D repository

- n. 13, 3D models

- SketchFab

Content

2D repository

- n. 10, images

- GitHub

Figure 5: The ‘Expedition Models of Egyptian

Architectures’ of the Egyptian Museum in Turin.

4.1.3 ‘Phygital Experience’ of the Museum

Passion in Sordevolo

The SVE experience aims to create the digital twin of

the temporary exhibition entitled Phygital Exhibition.

The on-site exhibition was an initiative of the

Museum Passion in Sordevolo and opened in July

2022 in the Church of Santa Marta. (Giovannini and

Bono, 2023). The exhibition's theme was to narrate

the evolution of the set design projects since the late

XIX century. The Passion, in the form of Popular

theatre, is part of the intangible heritage of Piedmont.

The core was to document the intangible heritage

through tangible documentation. For creating the

environment of the Church (container), solid

modeling was used to simulate the real space with a

low level of detail while recreating the color of the

interior with textures.

Table 4: ‘Phygital Experience’ SVE project analysis.

Goal

A virtual exhibition of a temporary exhibition layout

repurposing simplified reality. The content of the SVE is

different from the actual set-up and is enriched with

material that cannot be visualized in reality.

Container Specifications

Container

3D technique

- Solid modeling repurposing the

simplified interior of an existing church

- materials with generic textures

Container

3D repository

- n. 1, 3D model

- SketchFab

Type of Content

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Type of Content Interactions

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Content specifications

Content

3D technique

- Photogrammetric acquisition of current

set design and a maquette

- retopologization processes

- materials with reality-based textures

- Solid modeling repurposing simplified

reality of past set design

- no texture/clay visualization

Content

3D repository

- n. 6, 3D models

- n. 1, 360° image

- SketchFab

Content

2D repository

- n. 11 videos

- YouTube

- n. 15, images

- GitHub

Content

1D repository

- n. 30, textual elements (Spoke elements)

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The collection (content) composed of panels and

infographics was re-proposed in the digital

environment, allowing interaction with each image.

The church's side chapels were used to store 3D

models, historical videos, and a 360° immersive

picture where it is possible to enter and visualize it as

a 360° virtual tour. The other perimeter walls were

also used to collect a digital gallery of more recent

videos already stored in the YouTube channel of the

Museum Passion. The main empty wall in the

Presbyterian area carries the video with 3D

animations developed during a previous collaboration

between the Department of Architecture and Design

DAD of Politecnico di Torino and the Museum

Passion (Giovannini et al., 2021).

Figure 6: The ‘Phygital Experience’ of the Museum Passion

in Sordevolo.

4.2 Didactic Activities in Architecture

The following three experiences fall within the scope

of the dissemination of teaching activity carried out

both at the level of master's degree programs and as a

circumscribed activity of a master thesis still in

progress.

The intention to create immersive and social

environments to collect student works and their two-

and three-dimensional outcomes aligns with the

Telearchitettura (TA) portal's primary mission. TA is

an online platform of the Department of Architecture

and Design DAD and it is part of the Center for

Education in Architecture activities. The platform

collects the outcomes of all degree courses afferent to

DAD by creating individual web pages dedicated to

courses, seminars, and ateliers. The activity of

collecting student outcomes originated during the

COVID-19 pandemic, and the platform was

configured as a tool to collect not only student 2D

layouts but also videos to maintain the memory of

revisions in a participatory dialogue between students

and faculty members.

The discipline of drawing and representation thus

set itself the ambition of overcoming the two-

dimensionality of web pages, where content is

collected in the form of images, videos, and texts, by

adding the third dimension. This action is also aligned

with many other latest universities' experiences.

In 2018, 2020, and 2021, Tulane University

developed a digital recreation of Tulane School of

Architecture's large lecture hall as a virtual exhibition

experience to showcase Thesis projects by Graduate

and Undergraduate students. (Tulane, University,

n.a.) The Uncertain Space is the Virtual Museum of

the University of Bristol in the UK. (University of

Bristol Museum, n.a.) Harward University with

Archiverse created a digital design platform for

architectural and artistic creation using a

collaborative VR environment. (Harvard University,

n.a.) The TU Delft organized the VR exhibition The

News of the Progress 2.0, collecting the graduate

work of Architectural Engineering students. (Starink,

2020) In 2021, Newcastle University's School of

Architecture and Planning launched the Virtual

Degree Show (V21 ArtSpace, 2021). The XR Lab at

UC Berkeley launched the Virtual Bauer Wurster,

where students can upload their drawings and 3D

models and interact with others (Natividad, 2021).

Within this panorama, Social Virtual

Environments have played and are still playing an

undoubtedly significant role on the teaching front

(Poolsawas, 2023; Cowie, 2022).

4.2.1 The Inside the Museum Seminar

The first prototype experience was created in 2023 for

the introductory seminar Inside the Museum, in which

the disciplines of digital design representation

collaborate with Exhibit Design and Museography.

Students develop a design proposal to be

implemented inside a museum space. The activity

also requires students to use Extended Reality tools

within the exhibit and narrate the design projects for

the exhibit itself.

In 2023, the introductory seminar aimed to

develop an exhibition design for the FIAT Lingotto in

Turin. As part of the course activities, an on-site

temporary exhibition was developed to show

students' outcomes to the future student community at

Valentino Castle, inside the ‘Sala delle Colonne.’

The space is commonly used for exhibitions and

various events, and it consists of a hall with six

columns and a vaulted system. The aim of recreating

the space in a virtual exhibition was to document the

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on-site temporary exhibition, creating a diverse

access point for students' outcomes.

A photogrammetric acquisition was made to

develop the digital space (container) to obtain 3D

textured meshes of specific elements: columns and

stucco decorations. The intention was to close the gap

between real space and its digital replica. The 3D

model of the hall was used as a 3D environment

(container) with the possibility to interact with its

elements (content): students’ layouts, 3D models,

videos, and audio tracks obtained from a voice

synthesizer (Giovannini et al., 2023b).

Table 5: The ‘Inside the Museum Experience’ SVE project

analysis.

Goal

A virtual exhibition of a temporary exhibition layout

repurposing simplified reality. The content of the SVE is

different from the original set-up. It is enriched with

students' material that cannot be visualized in reality,

including videos and audio tracks narrating the concept of

each project.

Container Specifications

Container

3D technique

- Solid modeling from point-cloud of an

existing room

- colored texture materials

- Photogrammetric acquisition of

architectural elements that characterize

the space

- retopologization processes

- materials with reality-based textures

Container

3D repository

- n. 2, 3D model

- SketchFab

Type of Content

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Type of Content Interactions

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Content specifications

Content

3D technique

- Solid modeling repurposing maquette

and exhibition panels

- no texture/clay visualization

Content

3D repository

- n. 6, 3D models

- SketchFab

Content

2D repository

- n. 15, images

- GitHub

- n. 5 videos

- YouTube

Content

1D repository

- n. 16, textual elements (Spoke elements)

- n. 16 audio tracks

Figure 7: The ‘Inside the Museum Experience’ for the

Telearchitettura platform at Politecnico di Torino is on the

top audio frame.

The prototyped environment was embedded in the

Telearchitettura portal that already contain other

course information.

In 2024, the seminar activity was replicated. The

case study was the design exhibit for ‘Sale Auliche’

at the Reale Mutua Historical Museum in Turin. The

exhibit comprises five rooms with painted vaults and

coffered ceilings. Silk wallpapers and diverse door

and window ornaments also characterized all the

rooms. Again, the photographic and photogrammetric

acquisition was done to obtain reality-based textures

for the 3D scene (container). This environment differs

from the previous one because it aims to develop a

guided virtual exhibition using five rooms as it

happens in reality.

The scene was then quite complex to optimize,

and it collects both reality-based 3D models for

vaulted systems and low-poly 3D models used for

walls. The ‘content’ consists of diverse types of

student outcomes. The seminar's didactic activities

also comprise developing different extended reality

solutions, including digital replicas, of their proposed

exhibition layouts.

Social Virtual Environments: Opportunities and Workﬂows in Cultural Heritage and Education in Architecture

779

Figure 8: The ‘container’ 3D digital asset of ‘Sale Auliche

Experience’ for Reale Mutua Historical Museum in Turin.

Table 6: ‘Sale Auliche Experience’ SVE project analysis.

Goal

A virtual exhibition of a temporary exhibition layout

repurposing simplified reality. The content of the SVE is

different from the actual setup and is enriched with

exhibition layouts proposed by course students.

Container Specifications

Container

3D technique

- Solid modeling from CAD

- materials with reality-based textures

- Photogrammetric acquisition of

architectural elements that characterize

the space (ceilings and vaulted systems)

- retopologization processes

- materials with reality-based textures

Container

3D repository

- n. 9, 3D model

- SketchFab

Type of Content

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Type of Content Interactions

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Content specifications

Content

3D technique

- Solid modeling repurposing maquette

and exhibition panels

- no texture/clay visualization

- 360° images used as primary access to

virtual tours developed by students

Content

3D repository

- n. 2, 3D models

- n. 18, 360° image

- SketchFab

Content

2D repository

- n. 40, images

- GitHub

- n. 18 videos

- YouTube

Content

1D repository

- n. 55, textual elements (Spoke elements)

Figure 9: The ‘container’ 3D model of ‘Sale Auliche

Experience’ for Reale Mutua Historical Museum in Turin

with an exhibit solution developed by a student group.

Figure 10: The ‘container’ 3D model of ‘Sale Auliche

Experience’ for Reale Mutua Historical Museum in Turin

with an exhibit solution developed by a student group.

4.2.2 TeleArchitettura Virtual Space

Table 7: ‘TeleArchitettura Virtual’ SVE project analysis.

Goal

A virtual portal to access TeleArchitettura platform content.

Container Specifications

Container

3D technique

- Solid modeling

- no texture/colored visualization

Container

3D repository

- n. 9, 3D model

- SketchFab

Type of Content

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Type of Content Interactions

text

image

3D model

audio

video

360° image

Content specifications

Content

3D technique

- Photogrammetric acquisition

- retopologization processes

- materials with reality-based textures

Content

3D repository

- 3D models (according to courses

groups and materials available)

- SketchFab

Content

2D repository

- images (according to courses groups

and materials available)

- GitHub

ERSeGEL 2024 - Workshop on Extended Reality and Serious Games for Education and Learning

780

TeleArchitettura is an institutional web platform that

collects didactic activities of academic courses for

bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Creating the digital

assets for the virtual environment follows the idea of

creating a TeleArchitettura virtual space where student

works can be exhibited, and the content can be

visualized and scrolled in an immersive way using VR

headsets. Extended reality applications are also part of

student work and can enrich the digital space,

augmenting the diversity of possible virtual

interactions.

The space's design concept follows the idea of

creating spaces according to the type of interaction

with specific digital contents: 1D, 2D, or 3D. The space

consists of a series of hub rooms connected by portals

that allow one to pass from one space to another.

The main Hall introduces the diverse degree

courses offered by DAD. Each degree course is then

subdivided according to academic courses, organized

by academic years, and shows students' outcomes or,

eventually, registered plenary reviews. A gallery also

comprises the newest added content to the platform.

Figure 11: The ‘Telearchitettura Virtual Space’ prototype

for the main Hall and Gallery developed by P. Cardone.

5 CONCLUSIONS

The paper presents a possible workflows for

disseminating cultural heritage and didactic activities

using digital technologies and developing digital

assets. Integrating and re-elaborating digital assets

was also part of the processes to create a

comprehensive visualization of content created to be

re-used also in diverse context with different

storytelling purposes. Within the digital environment,

documentary heritage and 3D models can be used the

same way as students' outcomes, which generally

produce bidimensional layouts and 3D models of

their designed projects.

Digital spaces and metaverses have become a way

to communicate culture and design projects and a place

of interaction for students and professors, the same as

museum professionals and visitors. In line with other

worldwide extended reality experiences, using web-

based Social Virtual Environments to display content

can be a good compromise between low cost and ease

of development. The outcomes of the activities

developed with museum collections, already presented

to the public through virtual exhibitions and demo

sessions on conference presentations, can also become

an asset to populate the virtual display of other

alternative virtual exhibitions. Again, TeleArchitettura

is a space of communication that today uses diverse

media, images, and videos. With this experience, the

platform will also include digital environments

exploring novel ways of communication and

interaction between students, academics and large

public.

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