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The Role of Tangible Interaction for Communicating Qualitative Information of Built Heritage

Research Authors
Eslam Nofal, Vanessa Boschloos, Hendrik Hameeuw, Andrew Vande Moere
Research Member
Research Year
2016
Research Journal
Arqueológica 2.0: 8th International Congress on Archaeology, Computer Graphics, Cultural Heritage and Innovation
Research Publisher
Polytechnic University of Valencia
Research Vol
NULL
Research Rank
3
Research_Pages
441-444
Research Website
http://ocs.editorial.upv.es/index.php/arqueologica20/arqueologica8/paper/viewFile/4153/2286
Research Abstract

Each built heritage artifact possesses multiple types of information, varying from simple, factual aspects to more complex qualitative and tacit qualities and values like the architectural symbolism of a monument. This paper investigates how tangible interaction can enable the communication of qualitative information of built heritage to lay visitors. Through a comparative, field study in a real-world museum context, we examined how the tangible characteristics of an interactive prototype museum installation influence how visitors perceive a particular story. The communicated story relates a historical journey in ancient Egypt to the physical and architectural characteristics of the entrance colonnade at the Djoser Complex in Saqqara. The first preliminary findings indicate how tangible interaction is able to engage museum visitors more to accomplish additional efforts, facilitating a vivid understanding of cultural values and architectural qualities of built heritage.