Cities are discover through books and visits. For this we use different tools, books, trips, Internet… Windows are a resource that allows to see, to know and to observe. A window through our history is the main message of the Project Digital Wall, that pretends to discover and approach the heritage and common culture to the citizenship through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
We spoke with Lucía Gregorio Rodríguez, general director of Ineo (Multisectorial Association of New Information and Communication Technologies), partner of the project Digital Wall.
P: How did the project Digital Wall start?
R: Walls are generally conceived as a defensive element and separator, but nowadays they turn into integrator elements and give identity to cities. As if they become a vertebrate system of the territories, they are witnesses of the history.
The Project Digital Wall originates in 2011, with the aim to create a network of walled cities in Galicia and North of Portugal that bet by the valorisation of this historical archaeology heritage through the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
P: Who made it possible?
R: The European Union through the European Funds of Regional Development (FEDER), in the frame of the second announcement of the Program of Cooperation “Transfronteriza Spain-Portugal 2007-2013” (POCTEP), funded 75% of the project.
Besides, we are seven partners, the City Council of Lugo, INEO, the University of Santiago de Compostela, the Centre of Graphic Computation and the City Councils of Valença do Minho, Monção and Melgaço, they are promoters of this initiative.
These five cities have a history, culture and common heritage, that goes from the Roman occupation, going through the Muslim, until arriving to the modern period.
P: Which kind of activities do you develop related with the architecture and landscape of the walls?
R: In the participant cities there are different workshops of sensitisation and training on the common history of this Euro-region.
Among this activities, we have developed: workshops headed to the citizenship in general, with the aim to promote archaeology, showing the evolution of the walls of Lugo, Valença do Minho, Santiago de Compostela, Monção and Melgaço; and traning workshops oriented to labour insertion of unemployed people.
Image of the inauguration of the formative workshops
We have added the most technological tools of walls’ reconstruction and all the information is available through digital means (web page and mobile applications) to citizens and visitors.
Besides, we will develop an application for mobile and Tablet that will improve the tourist experience in his visit, he will be able to visualise a mediaeval or Roman environment.
We have been working in the digital wall reconstruction using new existent technics for creation of digital contents, such as: Cinema 4D, 3D Max, After effects CS6, Phostoshop CS 6, Illustrator CS6, Zbrush or Final cut studio.
P: Which elements would you stand out of innovative character?
There are a lot of innovative appearances in the project. In one hand, the technicians are developing the recreations with a visual language, very close to what is employed in advertising, on the other hand, the users will use a geo-referenced web and a mobile application that allows an in situ recreation.
P: Finally where we can find more information about Digital Wall?
Through the web of the project www.muralladigital.eu and through the blog http://murallasdigitales.blogspot.com.es
Soon we will have a viral video of the project that it will be promoted through the social networks.
More information: Digital Wall