Documenting cultural heritage sites and objects to the highest possible standards.

Thursday 10 October 2024 –  10am–4pm (BST) – At the Weston Library and online – Free, booking required

Technologies continuously evolve transforming the representation of space and geography, shaping new forms of consciousness and knowledge. Digital technologies are mediating access to and research into cartographic material. 2D and 3D digital recording and display technologies are being employed to document rare maps, globes, and other cartographic material, enhancing research and playing a crucial role in the decision-making processes focused on both access and preservation. The same GIS being used to map our planet are also mapping the surface of vellum manuscripts, or mapping projected digital images. This material evidence, when combined with machine learning and immersive display technologies, has the potential to cultivate a new intimacy with the physical world.

As the physical world is digitised, the digital world becomes increasingly physical. Maps help us navigate this unfamiliar terrain. Two sessions will bring together experts in cartographic history and cartographers of the digital world in a celebration and exploration of the role that maps play to provide access to real and imaginary worlds.

At the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, the new year at AOA – ARCHiVe Online Academy has already started with the new modules on ‘Access to image-based resources in the context of the IIIF protocol’. On September 23rd, the ARCHiOx team from the Bodleian Libraries will introduce the work of the IIIF Consortium and its role in the development of software and technologies, especially on implementing 3D objects in IIIF-compliant viewers.

At the V&A, the increasingly warm summer temperatures raised concerns for a wax model for one of the Prisoners (Prigioni) Michelangelo made for the tomb of Pope Julius II. Working with Rachel Boyd and Kira Zumkley at the V&A, Factum Foundation recreated the model in a wax with a higher melting point than the original, using colour references to ensure a perfect facsimile for display in the gallery in the summer months, when the original must be relocated to a cooler environment.

The AaltoSiilo and the Skene Catling de la Peña + Factum Foundation proposals for the future of the building have been selected by the European Commission as one of 12 projects in Europe to act as an ‘exemplar of good architectural practice’ and to serve as a model for other European cities. Over the past four days (September 10-14), a large group of delegates, including architects, urbanists, academics, politicians, policymakers and members of the Architects Council of Europe converged in Oulu for a Living Spaces Symposium focused on the AaltoSiilo project, hosted by Factum Foundation, the City of Oulu and Oulu’s Cultural Sector.

This event solidifies the commitment of the City to the proposals and the reinvented AaltoSiilo as an important legacy project of Oulu 2026. It will also raise awareness and the profile of the project among key European stakeholders, including those in a position to provide support and funding.

The Living Spaces event coincided with the third iteration of the annual AaltoSiilo Festival, on September 14th. This year it also hosted a sister event between Oulu (City of Culture 2026) and Tartu, Estonia (City of Culture 2024): the cities are connected through their two Aalto buildings, from which the events were livestreamed. In Madrid, the events could be experienced live at the Instituto Iberoamericano de Finlandia. Renowned artist Elina Brotherus gave an intimate look at many of Aalto’s most iconic buildings through an illustrated talk about her work, followed by a study of Mari Toppila by Photonorth, exploring the intersection of architecture, photography, and public space. Antonia Henn’s intervention ‘Concrete Cathedral’, singing and reciting the dreams of the residents for the future of the silo, followed in the footsteps of Kurt Schwitters; the Finnish flamenco singer Anna Murtola revived the ‘duende’ that rose following last year’s event and the acrobats of the Plus Petite Cirque du Monde animated the building against a spectacular sunset.

The facsimile of the Wilton-Warburg Kriophoros was recently installed at the Warburg Institute ahead of their reopening on October 1st. The Wilton-Warburg Kriophoros, an Archaic Greek sculpture, was loaned to the Warburg Institute and stood at the entrance for many years. It was returned to Wilton House in 2007. Factum Foundation London carried out a high-resolution recording last year and produced a facsimile that is part of the Warburg Renaissance, a six-year-long renovation to enhance the Institute’s academic resources and teaching spaces and create new facilities for special collections, exhibitions, and events.