Tangible and Intangible Digital Heritage - Creating Virtual Environments to Engage Public Interpretation

This research developed an immersive, multi-dimensional Virtual Experience of the `Gordon Wilson Flats', a Modern apartment block constructed during the 1950s in Wellington, New Zealand. The project explored methods to virtually reconstruct the spatial qualities of the building and document the flats in both their current and original states within the context of Wellington City. This digital heritage project documents both the tangible and intangible characteristics of the building to inform public discussion focused upon the flats. This approach was in an effort to capture the effect of time on the buildings tangible elements, and with the addition of oral histories, develop a narrative which is intended to facilitate architectural understanding and heighten engagement within the immersive virtual environment. This paper presents a digital methodology for the creation of a digital heritage experience with the purpose of engaging and informing public discussion.