BACKGROUND

In recent years, digital and immersive projects have been booming in the heritage sector. Faced with the diversity of these projects, Atout France, as part of the Reinventing Heritage * program, Atout France would like to propose a state-of-the-art review of these transformations and dynamics currently at work in the heritage sector. With this in mind, this study entitled “Digital and immersive experiences in heritage” (Panorama, potentials and opportunities of the uses of digital immersion in heritage sites) was commissioned from {CORRESPONDANCES DIGITALES], supported by a committee of experts.

* Program Reinventing Heritage is an engineering fund created by the Banque des territoires, the Agence nationale de la cohésion des territoires and Atout France, in conjunction with the French Ministry of Culture, to promote the emergence of tourism investment projects at heritage sites.

SERVICES PROVIDED :

• Identifying immersive projects at French and international heritage sites;
• Around twenty interviews with project developers and technical service providers;
• Analysis of a variety of inspiring digital and heritage projects
• Writing and formatting three types of document to assist owners, managers and teams of public or private heritage sites, heads of cultural and tourism departments of local authorities, as well as elected representatives in charge of these issues and tourism professionals, in their reflections and projects;
• Enhancing the value of the study and presenting its conclusions.

DELIVERABLES

• A panorama of digital uses in heritage sites, providing an up-to-date overview of what’s on offer in terms of digital and immersive heritage mediation;
• A technical zoom on the 3 phases of the project (design, operation, evaluation) in the form of 3 detailed practical sheets;
• Project fact sheets, illustrating inspiring practices and experiences at : Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, Abbaye aux Dames in Saintes, Corderie Royale in Rochefort, Théâtre Antique in Orange, Niagara Falls Hydroelectric Plant (Canada), Pressoria in Aÿ-Champagne (an interpretation center dedicated to Champagne wines), the Citadelle souterraine in Verdun, the Bibliothèque humaniste in Sélestat, the Domaine national de Chambord, the Saline royale d’Arc-et-Senans, the Musée Antoine Vivenel in Compiègne, the Coupole in St-Omer, the Château de Beaugency and the Sucrière in Lyon.
• Organize special events to present and promote the study (e.g. Museum Connections, Hub des territoires…).