Call for Participation

CIPA-ICOMOS-ISPRS Workshop 2014
September 1-4, 2014, Beijing, China
(will be held in conjunction with the 3rd International Symposium on Cultural Heritage Conservation and Digitization (CHCD))

Hosted by (among others)
International Committee for Documentation of Cultural Heritage (ICOMOS-CIPA)
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) China
School of Architecture, Tsinghua University (THUSA)

Organised By (among others)
Tsinghua Heritage Institute for Digitization (THID)

Co-organizer
Bibliotheca Hertziana - Max Planck Institute for Art History, Italy

Deadline is 15 March 2014 though in the pdfs downloadable on the website you will find 27 January 2014 as deadline.

This is the first time that CIPA workshop takes place in P. R. China.

The workshop will provide participants with a unique opportunity to work with international experts in the fields of architecture, digital technology, and heritage conservation, and the rare opportunity to experience first-hand one of the most famous sites in Chinese cultural history – the Yuanmingyuan ("Garden of Perfect Brightness"), also known as Beijing Old Summer Palace.

The 4-day workshop proper (fieldwork) focuses on the Western Buildings, a garden district with an eventful history and outstanding socio-cultural significance as a symbol of international cooperation. Designed by European Jesuit missionaries in cooperation with Chinese local craftsmen more than 250 years ago, it will once again become the workplace for a dynamic team of specialists from diverse countries and disciplines with a similar team spirit.

The official languages are English and Chinese. To facilitate communication, simultaneous interpretation will be provided during the workshop proper.

GOALS
The CIPA-ICOMOS-ISPRS Workshop 2014 is part of the long-term Re-Yuanmingyuan project whose aim is to digitally revive/virtually reconstruct the Old Summer Palace. The project was launched by THID (formerly known as DAUH, Department of Architecture and Urban Heritage, at Beijing Tsinghua Urban Planning and Design Institute, THUPDI), China, as part of the Re-Relic program in 2009. The workshop shares the main theme of "translation" with the CHCD Symposium. Today, the ruins of the Western Buildings consist of scattered fragments of information that must be combined into one and interpreted into a more comprehensible form so as to revive the lost splendor of the Western Buildings and once again become accessible to the broader public. The workshop is aimed at (1) professionals actively involved in planning or working in the fields of art and architectural history, cultural heritage studies and modern information and communication technologies, (2) talented young students and (3) senior researchers at universities or institutions of higher-education.
The main goals of this workshop are to promote the benefits of virtual monument preservation and heritage digitization, as follows: (1) To create an interactive and international platform, bridging the gap between cultural-studies and digital-technology expertise and bringing together specialists from the East and the West. (2) To create an interactive and mutual learning experience, training cultural-studies researchers in new digital skills and cutting-edge technology, and vice versa, to sensitize digital-visualization, -documentation, and -communication specialists to the importance of humanities and heritage preservation with the view to opening up new avenues of academic research.

THE SITE: YUANMINGYUAN
The Yuanmingyuan ("Garden of Perfect Brightness") also known as the Old Summer Palace in Beijing is a 350-ha garden complex located in the northwestern suburb of Beijing. Once a magnificent residence for five Qing-dynasty (1644-1912) emperors and a socio-political center equivalent to the Forbidden City, it was burned to the ground in 1860 during the Anglo-French allied invasion in the Second Opium War. For more than 130 years, it embodied the Qing-dynasty ideal of an imperial garden, but today, almost nothing remains of the manifold architectural and garden styles, drawn from the entire empire, that were incorporated here.

XIEQIQU
Including splendid water installations and natural surroundings, the Western Buildings (Xiyanglou) covered an area of 7 ha in the northeastern part of Yuanmingyuan, equal to 2% of the entire park ensemble. They also constituted the first large-scale European-style garden district in China. The site chosen for the workshop is the Xieqiqu (Pavilion of the Delights of Harmony) (b.1747), the earliest of twelve Western-style structures that were built over the course of the second part of the18th century. Xieqiqu was once a U-shaped structure with a three-storied core flanked by curved wings terminating in octagonal pavilions. A double flight of steps provided access from the south and a straight one, from the north. Today, only stone fragments of this once-glorious palace are scattered throughout the site.

WORKSHOP ORGANIZATION

IMPORTANT DATES
The training workshop is organized in 3 phases spread over 10 months: (1) registration (grouping; 4 months) (2) preparation at home (group communication; 6 months) and (3) fieldwork in China (workshop proper; 4 days). Please see Table 1 for specific dates and work requirements in each phase.

GROUPING
The workshop will consist of 30-40 participants from various academic backgrounds and nationalities to foster interdisciplinary communication and cross-cultural learning. In Phase 1, the participants will be divided into small groups of 5-6 members. Each team will be led by two instructors (1 cultural, 1 technological) and supported by one administrator (secretary-translator).

PREPARATION AT HOME
The instructors are experienced researchers in cultural and technological studies ranging from art and architectural history to digital heritage documentation and virtual restoration. In Phase 2, they will outline a group topic and choose a specific working area on site. In consultation with the organizing team, they will provide guidance to the participants and distribute relevant material about the site. Each team member will be assigned a research task based on his/her background, which he/she will then be expected to prepare prior to arrival in Beijing ("homework"). The preparation will facilitate interactive learning and hands-on experience.

WORKSHOP PROPER IN CHINA
The 4-day workshop proper will consist of an introductory session, five half-day training sessions on site or in the conservation laboratory, supplemented by lectures, and a final presentation as part of the 3rd CHCD Symposium. Participants will be actively involved in lectures and discussions, and become familiar with digital documentation techniques and virtual reconstruction. Please see Table 2 for the timetable of the workshop proper.

LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
The official workshop languages are English and Chinese. The administrator of each team will provide language assistance and interpretation if necessary.

EXPECTED OUTCOME
Participants are expected to combine theoretical knowledge and practical aspects and engage in an exchange of skills to promote the application of digital technology to education and research on cultural heritage and to the analysis, documentation, reconstruction, sharing and visualization of cultural heritage. In the final presentation (PowerPoint/Keynote), each group will deliver a presentation about the individual learning processes and training results, combining the "homework" with the knowledge acquired on-site. In addition, a final project report will be required, expanding on the presentation.

REGISTRATION
Please register online at http://www.chcd2014.org

CONTACT INFORMATION

Organizing Secretary: Mr. SHANG Jin
Telephone: (+86) 10-82819649 (Beijing Time: 10:00-17:00)
Email: chcd2014gmail.com
Website: http://www.chcd2014.org/

You may also contact: Dr. Hermann Schlimme
Bibliotheca Hertziana - Max Planck Institute for Art History
Via Gregoriana 28, I-00187 Rome, Italy
Telephone: (+39) 06-69993-310
Email: schlimmebiblhertz.it