Crafting research communication in building history

Interactive article

Authors

  • Gunnar Almevik University of Gothenburg, Department of Conservation
  • Jonathan Westin University of Gothenburg, Centre for Digital Humanities

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7577/formakademisk.4404

Keywords:

Virtual reality, non-traditional research output (NTRO), virtual diorama, Hemse stave church

Abstract

This research is presented through an interactive application. A virtual reconstruction based on the remains from a medieval stave church is used as a case study to re-establish the historic building as a tangible place and assemblage. Augmented by virtual reality, the research focuses on the sensuous aspects of the stave church as a whole—where architecture, artefacts, light, and materials interact—through the movements of approaching, entering, and dwelling. The research output is a virtual reconstruction, or a virtual diorama, that “re-members” the stave church elements and re-contextualises contemporaneous religious artefacts that have been dismembered and diffused in various exhibitions and deposits. The contribution in this research is methodological, seeking to test and provide a case to discuss how non-traditional research outcome can be crafted to elicit the sensuous aspects of research and still attend to the rigor of science. We seek to methodologise the digital artefact as a research output but also as a means for testing hypothesis and observing the effects when enacting the environment. The connection to the craft sciences concerns both the empirical material, the wooden stave church as a crafted object, and the exploration of an interactive application as a research output or hermeneutic device in the research process.

Author Biographies

Gunnar Almevik, University of Gothenburg, Department of Conservation

PhD, Professor

Jonathan Westin, University of Gothenburg, Centre for Digital Humanities

PhD, Research Coordinator

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Published

2021-05-10

How to Cite

Almevik, G., & Westin, J. . (2021). Crafting research communication in building history: Interactive article. FormAkademisk, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.7577/formakademisk.4404

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