Preserving ARCtic ARChitectural Heritage (PrARCHeritage)

Issues such as multi-faceted monitoring of the Arctic’s architectural heritage and long-term protection, restoration and conservation of tangible (monuments, structures, natural landscapes) in connection with evolution of intangible (language, traditions, customs, rituals, folklore) heritage have come into the foreground. An area with many-thousand-year-long history, the Arctic Region boasts diverse natural and architectural heritage. According to UNESCO, 17 UNESCO cultural heritage objects are located here, including those in the Russian Arctic, namely: “Cultural and Historic Ensemble of the Solovetsky Islands”, “Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve” as well as 2 sites included into the World Heritage Tentative List -“Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea” and “Heritage of Chukotka Arctic Marine Hunters”, and several hundreds of regional and local architectural heritage sites located in circumpolar areas and anticipating due attention.

The overall Project goal is to strengthen academia, public authorities, professionals & business community collaboration, enhance knowledge, provide international in-depth understanding and develop expertise in the areas of shared interest between Arctic countries in the field of preservation and popularization of the Arctic architectural heritage.

Project expected results:

• Digital database of all Arctic Architectural Heritage sites (photo, description) and 3D modelled pilot AH(2-3 per country) (jointly chosen by Project experts) with the possibility of subsequent virtual "excursion" visits (pilot cases in partner Arctic Council Countries). The digital database will be developed on the base of NARFU jointly by all Project partners and all partners will have access to the developed database, while the ownership and intellectual property rights of each project result shall be vested to the partner who has created the respective result. Where several partners have jointly carried out work generating the result and where their respective share of the work cannot be ascertained, they shall have joint ownership of such result. All Project results ownership details will be negotiated among partners and fixed in the partnership agreement. All other database usage issues (data protection, access, sovereignty, downloadability, etc.) will be negotiated among partners and fixed in a separate document.
• Knowledge transfer across borders through developed expertise in areas of shared interest between Arctic Council countries in the field of architectural and technological solutions for preservation and sustainable management of the AH based on a “Living Laboratory” Approach.
• Raised public awareness about the AH challenges and prospects.
• Developed Guide for 3D Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage & Recommendations for sustainable management and preservation of architectural cultural heritage for the authorities/decision makers, research institutions, Indigenous Peoples and others interested in studying, preserving and popularization of Arctic cultural heritage.
• More attracted tourists to the Arctic area to enjoy the Arctic heritage in the format of virtual tours (no physical presence and hence no damage to susceptible Arctic environment and architectural heritage sites, this is especially true for sacred places for example.