Virtual reconstruction of lost heritage object: on example of St. Myron church of life guard Jager regiment

Dinamics of social and cultural processes in Russian society has increased public interest toward historical and cultural monuments. The works of religious architecture, lost in the Soviet period, are studied and restored. However, it is not always possible to restore the monuments in their physical forms. In such cases, modern information technologies help in research and presentation of the lost objects. This study is concerned with the new for both historical science and museology notion of virtual reconstruction on the example of a lost religious architectural monument. The research object included an exposition at “Raznochinnyi Peterburg” museum, which directly relates to the monument mentioned above. During the first step of the research, the project’s goals and tasks were detected. The main problem consisted in the linkage of historical research results and requirements for the already formed museum and expositional structure. Descriptions and conclusions on the character and value of the heritage object are based on the information obtained from the studied historical sources: testimonials related to the life of the monument and the society’s attitude toward it during different historical periods. In addition, the analysis of art criticism helped to reveal the object’s typical and unique features. Together with the results of the study on existing museum exposition the project’s source base was formed, as well as its end-form - a multimedia presentation, which was provided with additional means of expression. The project consists of several parts: 3D modeling, texturing, lighting and animation paths, video rendering, designing of the presentation’s maquette, downloading of all materials into one file, project’s demonstration directly within the museum’s space. The comprehension of the research results - a computer reconstruction - speaks of the increase in the aptness of the museum exposition. The exposition has both gnoseological and educational value for young generation of museum visitors.