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The art of archiving
Sainsbury Centre for the Visual Arts (SCVA) — Culture
Types: Matterport, Virtual tours
Preserving art and history is about more than safeguarding objects – it’s about capturing stories, ideas, and experiences for future generations. By creating high-fidelity 3D scans of the Sainsbury Centre’s seasonal exhibitions, we’ve helped the museum extend its reach, enrich education, and ensure its evolving collections remain accessible and immersive over time.
The brief
The Sainsbury Centre, a world-class art museum housed in Sir Norman Foster’s revolutionary first public building, is renowned for fostering cultural dialogue and exchange through art. As part of a radical relaunch, the Sainsbury Centre curates dynamic, six-month seasons that explore thought-provoking human questions, like ‘What is Truth?’ and ‘Why Do We Take Drugs?’
We were brought in to digitally capture each of these seasonal exhibitions over a two-year period, beginning in Spring 2024. The goal was to create high-fidelity 3D scans that serve as internal archives, educational tools, and, potentially, the foundation for future interactive public experiences.
The process
We proposed the use of Matterport’s cutting-edge 3D scanning technology to create navigable digital twins of the Gallery during each seasonal exhibition. Scanning was carried out with our Matterport Pro 3 camera across two days per season, working flexibly around the Sainsbury Centre’s schedules and out of hours to preserve the integrity of the space. The virtual galleries are securely hosted and password-protected, ensuring longevity and security.
Working closely with the Sainsbury Centre’s collaborative and supportive team, we’ve developed a smooth scanning process that’s as unobtrusive as it is effective – with the Infinite Form team becoming experts at hiding ourselves among the exhibits, out of the camera’s view!
The result
The result is a growing digital archive of immersive, high-resolution scans that preserve the Sainsbury Centre’s evolving exhibitions in perpetuity. These digital spaces are currently used for internal archival purposes, as well as educational programming and helping staff and students engage with the exhibits beyond physical boundaries.
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and conversations are already underway to evolve the project further, potentially increasing accessibility to these invaluable virtual experiences and adding interactivity for increased learning and engagement opportunities. Matterport scanning has empowered the Sainsbury Centre to extend its mission digitally; preserving its collections, educating audiences, and enriching professional development with cutting-edge technology.
Please note this project was completed by members of our team for We Are Immersive Ltd (WAI). The case-study here is produced with permission from the WAI board.
Gallery
