Notre-Dame Immersive at Deep Space 8K

• Press release as PDF
• Photos via Flickr
• More about Notre-Dame Immersive
• Ars Electronica Center: Program

(Linz, November 28, 2024) On December 7 and 8, Paris will celebrate the grand reopening of Notre-Dame, which fell victim to a devastating fire in 2019. Anyone who wants to marvel at the world-famous cathedral in Linz will have to come to the Ars Electronica Center on Sunday, December 8: Notre-Dame
Immersive will take visitors on a 3D tour of the venerable Parisian church and give them an insight into its history, the fire and its restoration. An adapted version of the program is currently on view in Houston, USA.

In April 2019, the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris caught fire. Built between the 12th and 14th centuries, the World Heritage Site was severely damaged by the spreading flames. As a result, entire sections have been extensively restored or rebuilt over the past years. In December 2024, the magnificent Gothic edifice will be reopened to the public – and the Ars Electronica Center is celebrating the occasion with a Notre-Dame Special.

Architectural Details and Art Treasures

On December 8, 2024, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m., Christoph Kremer (Managing Director Ars Electronica Center) and Melinda File (Head of Deep Space) invite you to attend the presentation of Notre-Dame Immersive. The application was produced by the Ars Electronica Futurelab in collaboration with the French start-ups Iconem and Histovery.

Using a controller, the experts navigate through the building in Deep Space 8K and use their expertise to point out architectural details, historical representations, and artistic highlights of Notre Dame – before the virtual cathedral catches fire and visitors learn about the extent of the fire through animated data. The effects are made possible by a stereoscopic 3D model of the building.

It is recommended to register in advance at center@ars.electronica.art or call +43.732.7272.0. Tickets are available for 11 euros or 13 euros.

Laser Scans, Point Clouds and Animation

The digital architecture of Notre-Dame Immersive is based on data from art historian Andrew Tallon, who created a point cloud of the cathedral from laser scans in 2010. After his death, Paris-based startup Iconem used innovative technology to complete the dataset. There are also 360-degree panoramas, selected 3D models, a high-resolution image of the rose window of the west portal, and a 3D view of the burning Notre Dame from Histovery. The Ars Electronica Futurelab team animated the image data and adapted it to the conditions of the Linz Deep Space 8K. The result is an immersive stereoscopic 3D experience with background music for visitors of all ages.

Notre Dame Application in Houston

An adapted version of the application can also be seen in the USA: The Ars Electronica Futurelab is bringing Notre-Dame Cathedral: An Immersive Experience to the Cullinan Hall of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. The exhibit is a 14-minute animated 2D journey through Notre Dame. Visitors are immersed in the atmospheric artwork through three monumental video walls, each measuring approximately 19×9 meters. The application premiered on November 23, 2024.

Cultural Heritage and Ars Electronica

Ars Electronica launched its cultural heritage activities shortly after the opening of Deep Space in 2009 with a gigapixel image of The Last Supper (data by Haltadefinizione) and a 3D point cloud of Pompeii (created by CyArk). Soon you could explore ancient Rome, discover Venice from the canals to the Doge’s Palace, or take a virtual tour of the Cheops Pyramid. Over the years, a selection of gigapixel images of famous paintings – including works by da Vinci, Picasso, Caravaggio, Botticelli, de Goya, Klimt and Schiele – has been added, revealing details hidden from the naked eye.

Notre-Dame Immersive is supported by the Austrian Foreign Ministry and the Institut Français d’Autriche, as part of the strategy for the international dissemination of cultural and creative industries. Additional funding is provided by the Dorotheum and the state of Upper Austria/culture.