Into a heritage metaverse

Technological advancement is playing a key role in preserving and promoting cultural heritage assets that are at risk of extinction or destruction. Su Zihan reports from Hong Kong.

 

 

As new infrastructure continues to proliferate Hong Kong amid massive redevelopment, many of the city's old buildings have faded into oblivion.

 

To name a few, the former Star Ferry Pier at Edinburgh Place; the old General Post Office Building on Pedder Street, Central; Club Germania on Kennedy Road; and the "Crane's Nest" - the Kowloon Tong home of late kung fu icon Bruce Lee - have all vanished from the scene, although they are a collective memory for Hong Kong people.

 

It may not be possible to re-create these lost structures in the real world. But today, as technology continues to progress, the option of visiting virtual renditions of real-world locations is becoming viable, allowing such heritage that have been removed from the urban landscape to venture into the digital space.

 

"What if the historical architectures demolished from the city's landscape get to relive their moments?" This is a question posed on the website of the (un)lost architecture NFT project.

 

Launched by Charles Lai Chun-wai, who holds a doctorate in architectural history from the University of Hong Kong, the project is to digitally re-create Hong Kong's demolished historical buildings in the metaverse.

 

The first batch of the (un)lost architecture series consists of five NFT (non-fungible token) projects - Club Germania, the old Star Ferry Pier at Edinburgh Place, the third-generation General Post Office, the second-generation Queen's Pier, and the old Peak Tower. Buyers can now view those lost places in the virtual world and own architectural models.

 

Many of these meaningful historical buildings in the special administrative region are known to younger generations through old photographs or videos. However, Lai says, from an architectural point of view, relying on photographs alone doesn't allow one to feel the volume and design of any of the buildings itself, or its three-dimensional aesthetics as a building from different angles.

 

"The project is thus aimed at re-creating lost historical buildings digitally and raising funds for research and the preservation of Hong Kong's old buildings," says Lai.

 

The project was launched in December 2021 at a price of 0.02 ethers (about HK$225, or $28.6) per NFT. It has already achieved its expected sales target, with 80 percent of the NFTs sold so far. The project will enter its second phase, in which augmented-reality features will be added to enable users to "revisit" the lost buildings in their locations, according to Lai.

 

While the current stage of the project is more like an NFT artwork, he hopes to bring a better interactive experience to buyers later, making more people cherish and preserve local historical buildings.

 

 

'An unrestricted form'

 

As technology continues to advance, the option of accessing virtual renditions of real-world locations is becoming more feasible, enabling users to immerse themselves in real-life simulations that are difficult or impossible to visit in real life.

 

Just walk along To Fuk Road and Rutland Quadrant in Kowloon Tong before turning into Cumberland Road and keep walking until you reach No 41. After opening the dark yellow gate, you will find a cobblestone path that winds through the lawn of the courtyard to a two-story townhouse. The courtyard is flanked by greenery on both sides of the house, alongside which is parked a vintage red Mercedes. This is the original site of Bruce Lee's Crane's Nest, which was demolished in 2019.

 

The rebuilt heritage preservation project now extends into the virtual world through the metaverse. Visitors are able to step inside again with a VR headset and remote-control handle. People can even own it in the near future as an NFT.

 

To commemorate the 49th anniversary of the martial arts superstar's death, the Bruce Lee Club has partnered with local digital marketing company Prizm Group to re-create the actor's former home in Kowloon Tong through VR technology, hoping to reclaim memories and cultural preservation by leveraging Web3 and blockchain technology.

 

 

 

Using advanced 3D imaging technologies, three students from the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Sha Tin), with the assistance of two professors from the School of Design of Hong Kong Polytechnic University and computer graphics artist Shannon Ma Fu-keung, accurately digitalized the site, preserving the building's historical value in its entirety in the metaverse for future generations to visit and have an immersive experience in the virtual mansion and garden.

 

"It's remarkable to achieve the successful restoration of Lee's home in a virtual world with advanced technology," says Bruce Lee Club Chairman Wong Yiu-keung. He hopes that such a virtual preservation project will pass on the superstar's spirit from generation to generation in an unrestricted form.

 

Bruce Lee spent his final years in the Crane's Nest with his family before his sudden death on July 20, 1973, at the age of 32. The mansion was initially transformed into a hotel, and was once planned to be converted into a memorial hall. The special administrative region government had discussed with the owner the possibility of turning the two-story house into a museum in 2008, but no agreement was reached. Despite a decadelong campaign by fans of the late kung fu legend to preserve the building, it was torn down in September 2019.

 

 

"We did a lot of research into the preservation project and, by putting it in the metaverse, we managed to digitalize some hard copies and make them 'live' longer", says Prizm Director Jeffrey Hau.

 

"Bruce Lee was an icon, a bridge between East and West, and a role model for millions of people. Preserving his old home in the metaverse is a symbol of reviving the prime time of Hong Kong culture," he says.

 

Hau believes it's a great demonstration of what technology can achieve, making it possible to revive more disappearing buildings, events and attractions in the metaverse, and let young people understand their background, where they came from and cultivate the culture.

 

He hopes the project will reintroduce Bruce Lee to the younger generation, revive traditional culture, pass on the superstar's spirit, and serve as a showcase for other cultural preservation and branding projects.

 

Prizm provides mainly digital marketing support for the project via channels such as websites, social media and blockchains.

 

 

Creating new stories

 

The Crane's Nest project will be made fully available across the globe on July 20, 2023 - the 50th anniversary of Lee's death.

 

At present, visitors can only make some simple interactions in the virtual Crane's Nest by wearing VR headsets and handles, walking around the garden or searching for hidden postcards with Lee's handwriting.

 

In the future, the two-story townhouse will be open to the public, featuring Lee's living room, dining room and training room. They will be able to access all the activities, including gamelike interactions and events.

 

 

Anthony Kong Pui-keung, assistant professor of the School of Design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and program leader of the school's Master of Science in Multimedia and Entertainment Technology program, is involved in the virtual reconstruction of Lee's home. He envisages re-creating the mansion in the metaverse in three stages - reproducing the virtual architectural scene, creating a sensory perception of people in the metaverse, and telling the stories or collective memories created by visitors in the virtual world.

 

As advances in space capture technologies, such as photogrammetry, 3D modeling and spatial mapping, have given metaverse architecture many photorealistic virtual experiences, Kong believes that new stories and new experiences are the real ultimate key to the conservation of historic buildings and other cultural heritage assets in the metaverse.

 

For example, if visitors to Lee's home could spar with the actor and re-create the martial arts event in the virtual world, this would give a deeper understanding of Lee's character, and the context in which he had lived, rather than a pale replica of that scene. In such a way, even non-Lee fans would be steep in the scenario and create their own memories through immersive interaction, says Kong.

 

 

He likens new stories to the soul of cultural heritage transmission. "The interactive function in the metaverse gives rise to the possibility of future generations creating their own new stories in it and injecting fresh blood into the continuation of cultural heritage," he said.

 

Digital culture is characterized by playfulness, cinematography, storytelling and surrealism, says Kong. When putting the conservation of ancient architectural heritages into the metaverse, one is inclined to create something new in its original context, rather than a replica of history - creating new stories in live based on previous historic ones.

 

"The functionality of the built heritages will degrade with the evolution of the times," Kong says. "To preserve them in the physical or virtual world, it's most important to give them a new function. The story might not be 100 percent equal to facts or realities, but it contains our collective memory."