“Unbuilt Matosinhos"

Casa da Arquitetura- Centro Português de Arquitetura, founded in 2007, is a non-profit cultural association whose aim is to disseminate and affirm architecture at national and international level. It is considered an institution that welcomes, processes and makes accessible to all the various documents of different architects, with the aim of promoting disciplinary reflections and bringing knowledge and understanding about architecture to the public. It has also been recognized as being of Cultural Interest by the Portuguese State. Casa da Arquitetura is not only staffed by architects, but also by people and organizations from various cultural and social fields who encourage and sponsor the public interest in architecture and the promotion and development of products and services by companies based on it. Thus, a vast program of activities is offered around Portuguese architecture with national and international prominence.

“Unbuilt Matosinhos” was an exhibition that took place at the Casa da Arquitetura Gallery between 2022 and 2023, depicting 11 projects that were partially built, built and demolished or never built in Matosinhos. What if it were possible to eternalize this exhibition? Given its experience in developing advanced virtual tours, 3Decide had the ideal solution and the necessary experience to make a historical record of all the exhibition spaces, in other words, capable of giving the project a second life. Thus, through an innovative solution such as the virtual tour, where it is possible to mix various types of content (360 photos, immersive videos, 2D plans, etc.), all based on web technologies that can be used on both mobile and desktop, it was then possible to preserve and immortalize the exhibition, allowing it to be accessible in the future and to be explored at any time and in any place.

The main objective was to make the exhibition, which is no longer physically available, accessible. That said, 3Decide was looking for innovative tools that would make it possible to relive “Unbuilt Matosinhos”, so a historical record was developed through a virtual tour so that the public can get to know the city that Matosinhos could have been. This tour features immersive high-definition videos and photographs captured from all angles of the models, which were considered unique and outstanding pieces. In order to obtain a complete experience, a visualizer was also created that lets you explore all the perspectives and the complete table that is present in the exhibition. In addition, this project has subtitles in several languages and information points, making it available to an international audience.

With this solution, 3Decide is breathing new life into the exhibition, giving users the chance to explore it interactively.

• Possibility of permanently preserving and accessing exhibitions
• Users can explore every element of the exhibition, thus keeping the public engaged
• Greater reach of the project to an international audience
• Possibility of updating and expanding, ensuring the relevance of the project