Inhabiting 'Prosperous Suzhou' through Smart VR - Interrogating an Ancient Artwork and Documents to manifest Tangible and Intangible Heritage

Virtual Reality (VR) emerges as a powerful tool for preserving and interpreting intangible cultural heritage, particularly in landscapes that no longer exist physically. This study demonstrates how an 18th-century handscroll painting of Suzhou's classical gardens can be reinterpreted into a three-dimensional VR environment, enriching users' understanding of both tangible (built form) and intangible (cultural practices, historical narratives) heritage. By integrating spatialized scenes with ancient texts—such as poems and travel notes—the research reveals that VR not only reconstructs lost landscapes but also embeds deeper contextual layers, enhancing experiential learning. The approach bridges traditional artistry with modern digital techniques, offering a novel method for heritage conservation and education.

Xu, Q., Brown, A. G. P., Moleta, T. J., Schnabel, M. A., & Rogers, M. (2020). Inhabiting ‘Prosperous Suzhou’ through Smart VR - Interrogating an Ancient Artwork and Documents to manifest Tangible and Intangible Heritage. Proceedings of the 25th Conference on Computer Aided Architectural Design Research in Asia (CAADRIA) [Volume 2], 2, 173–182. https://doi.org/10.52842/conf.caadria.2020.2.173