P3D |

Revisiting the Born-digital Archives of The Nieuwe Instituut

Brittany Brighouse; Ania Molenda

The Nieuwe Instituute is home to many born-digital archives of modern architecture and design. This project seeks to revisit these archival to re-discover the narratives and cultural trends of architectural design from modern and contemporary architects. Since architectural models of the digital era are designed using specialized software, it is a challenge to archive and preserve the raw data and to connect other research files back to the 3D model. This project explores the implications of that re-mapping of various forms of born-digital data in ways that showcase and contextualize the architect’s vision.

Go to edition

PURE3D's First Call for Projects

Costas Papadopoulos; Susan Schreibman; Kelly Gillikin Schoueri

In June 2023 PURE3D launched its first call for new 3D Digital Scholarly Editions. Six editions were chosen to further test PURE3D's architecture as well as to conceptually broaden the range of editions being created. The resultant editions are diverse historically and disciplinary, as well as in the uses of 3D to create scholarly arguments. Five of the editions are included in this project: Whale-bottle-shoe by Francien Bossema (Migelien Gerritzen Fellow at the Rijksmuseum, the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica [CWI]) who explores an enigmatic artefact—a bottle in the form of a whale and shoe using both CT and 3D scanning; 3D Düwelsteene by Louise Tharandt (a contractor archaeologist and researcher at the University of Cologne), a megalithic passage grave dating to the Neolithic period, providing insights into ancient cultures and burial practices; The Private Library of Pieter de Graeff (1638-1707) by Chiara Piccoli, (Research Fellow and Data Scientist at the 4D Research Lab, Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam) who reconstructs this early modern private library exploring the cultural and intellectual landscape of the era; Church of St. Johannis in Mainz by Igor Piotr Bajena (PhD candidate of the Architecture and Design Cultures, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna), tracing the church and its environs from the 8th through the 13th centuries which provides insight into medieval urban development; Westergasfabriek Through the Years by Francesca Fabbri (PhD candidate of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna), a former gas factory turned cultural hotspot in Amsterdam which explores the site's industrial past its evolution into a thriving urban centre. The last project chosen, A Genealogy of Home Cinema by Tim van der Heijden (Assistant Professor, Open University of the Netherlands), comprises several editions exploring twentieth-century home cinema, including the Kinora motion photography viewer and the Pathé Baby 9.5mm film projector.

Go to edition

Vlooienburg Jewish Amsterdam

Tijm Lanjouw; Mikko Kriek; Markus Stoffer; Jitte Waagen

The project is a 3D reconstruction of Vlooienburg, what is now the Waterloopleinbuurt, made by the UvA’s 4D Research Lab. In it you can see three different historical periods: from around 1625, 1675 and 1890. The excavations from 1980 can also be seen. You can also take a look at a typical dining room of a Portuguese-Jewish family from around 1650. The reconstructions have been produced on the basis of extensive cartographic, archaeological, and architecture-historical research by a team of archaeologists and 3D modellers and technicians, in close collaboration with experts in various domains of the cultural history of the area. Since the neighbourhood doesn’t exist anymore, and very few traces in the current urban layout of the area are visible, 3D/VR is the only way to create an experience of revisiting the area.

Go to edition

Toys with Voice

Susan Schreibman; Costas Papadopoulos

Toys, as cultural artefacts, offer a unique lens through which we can critically examine societal norms, challenge stereotypes, explore notions of gender and social behaviour, scrutinise body image, consider aspects of race, ethnicity, and engage with the impacts of technological innovation and geographical contexts on play. This project delves into the broader social, cultural, and historical contexts that shape and are shaped by the act of playing, and becomes a repository of narratives, utilising toys as symbolic surrogates to articulate interconnected and non-linear stories.

Go to edition

Modern Art in 3D

Hilde Janssen

This project contains a series of 3D digital editions of artworks held at the Museum van Bommel van Dam. Since these works, representing a variety of art, are not part of a permanent museum display, this project provides a venue to share their hidden stories to both a local and and a global audience.

Go to edition

Maastricht 1748

Eric Wetzels

In 1748, the French military made a scale model of the city of Maastricht to plan their strategic military conquest of the fortified city. This maquette today is stored in the French city of Lille but was in 2017 cleaned and assembled on behalf of the Municipality of Maastricht in order to create a 3D digitization version of the maquette. This project utilizes the 3D model as a way to narrate and reveal the histories of Maastricht from Roman times until the present.

Go to edition

Let There Be Light: Mining Lamps from the Collection of Cornelis Raedts

Miriam Paloni; Kevin Raetsen; Kirstin Römer

This project includes a selection of 3D digitized mining lamps which are on long-term loan to the Nederlands Mijnmuseum. Through rich and engaging descriptions of the artifacts, these lamps serve as a mini-history of the mines, of the technologies used, as well as mining culture.

Go to edition

Codex Cospi

Alice Bordignon Davide Domenici

The Codex Cospi is one of the few surviving precolonial Mesoamerican manuscripts, making it an invaluable resource for understanding indigenous Mesoamerican culture. The 3D Scholarly Digital Edition of the Codex Cospi was created to consolidate this cultural treasure into an accessible, dynamic, and interactive multimedia resource. In this context, the 3D model of the manuscript serves as both a comprehensive "container" and an interpretative focal point, bringing together various resources to enhance the manuscript experience. Beginning with the 3D model visualisation, users can explore annotations, articles, images, videos, audio, and external links, all of which are functionally interconnected. This seamless integration enables a multi-layered and interconnected study, merging direct engagement with the Codex and its broader contextual insights. The digital representation of the Codex was developed as part of the digital twin for the temporary exhibition The Other Renaissance: Ulisse Aldrovandi, the Wonders of the World. This edition aims to deepen the understanding of a key exhibit piece, allowing it to transcend its role in the wider museum narrative and emerge as the central subject of its own story.

Go to edition

Contested Memories

Susan Schreibman

Contested Memories is a long-term research project investigating the Battle of Mount Street Bridge through new technologies. The battle was the first confrontation on Wednesday 26 April 1916 between the Irish Volunteers and the British troops sent to quell the Irish Easter Rising. The 3D editions developed as part of the project each tell the story of the battle from a different perspective, focusing on key buildings and combatants.

Go to edition

The Birthplace of Rembrandt in Leiden

P.J. De Vos, Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken

A 3D virtual reconstruction of the house where Rembrandt van Rijn was born in 1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands. In commemoration of the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt's death in 2019, the tourism and marketing department of Leiden collaborated with Erfgoed Leiden, the regional heritage department, to create a 3D mofel. As the original birthplace of the renowned painter no longer exists, and the surrounding area has changed significantly over time, this project involved a multidisciplinary approach, involving archivists, building archaeologists, and a 3D artist. Through meticulous historical research, reliable data was collected, evaluated for accuracy, and categorized using a reliability matrix. The project culminated in the creation of a comprehensive virtual reconstruction, capturing the essence of Rembrandt's early years in Leiden.

Go to edition

Explore our 3D Projects

Revisiting the Born-digital Archives of The Nieuwe Instituut

PURE3D's First Call for Projects

Vlooienburg Jewish Amsterdam

Toys with Voice

Modern Art in 3D

Maastricht 1748

Let There Be Light: Mining Lamps from the Collection of Cornelis Raedts

Codex Cospi

Contested Memories

The Birthplace of Rembrandt in Leiden