Aleppo, located in the North-West of Syria, is known for its many emblematic architectural elements, classified as a World Heritage of Humanity by Unesco since 1986. Since 2012, Syria has faced numerous armed conflicts which have considerably damaged the old city of Aleppo. In order to preserve his memory and raise public awareness, the Boghossian Foundation is hosting an immersive and exclusively digital temporary exhibition presenting Iconem’s 3D documentation work, produced during several missions in 2017. This exhibition offers an immersive and memory experience through spectacular projections of 3D models produced by Iconem. It was possible to discover seven monuments of the old city of Aleppo : the Citadel and its neo-Hittite temple, the Umayyad Mosque, the Souk, the Ottoman house Beit Achiqbash, the Madrasa Al-Halawiyah as well as the Yalbougha hammam. Thanks to an augmented reality device, visitors are confronted in turn with the reality of the damage inflicted on the historic heart of the city and the beauty of the intact portions of these monuments.

In partnership with the Grand Palais and Google Arts & Culture, Iconem presented its immersive exhibition ‘‘Sites Eternels’’ for the Art # Connexion, a free, family-friendly event bringing together innovative and digital experiences produced by cultural institutions, start-ups and digital players. The event focused on four main themes – ‘‘Watch’’, ‘‘Understand’’, ‘‘Interact’’and ‘‘Imagine’’. Iconem was invited to present its digital innovative experiences in the Grand Palais’ Salon d’Honneur, in continuity with the ‘‘Eternal Sites’’ exhibition, to allow the public to use and interact with new technologies as a way of discovering art and heritage. In addition, an Agora allowed for debates and interviews, especially between Iconem, the Institute of the Arab World and Ubisoft.

The Iconem-produced exhibition “Build an empire” takes the visitor in the heart of seven archaeological sites of the ancient Roman Empire: Pompeii (Italy), Aphrodisias (Turkey), Garni (Armenia), Palmyra (Syria), Lepcis Magna (Libya), Carthago (Tunisia), Baelo Claudia (Spain). Thanks to the vast immersive projections of Iconem’s 3D models, this 100% digital exhibition is an invitation to discover the urban and architectural models of roman cities around the Mediterranean Sea. The exhibition focuses on the architectural and urban standards shared by the entire roman world, but also on their adaptation to the local culture.The triptych of projection off ers a striking and collective immersion into these roman sites. The exhibition ends with a virtual reality experience “Old Age Cities”, produced by Ubisoft and based on the Iconem data, which transport the visitor to the sites of Palmyra and Lepcis Magna.

According to legend, recounted by Greek and Roman historians, Armenia was founded by a descendant of Noah. A mythical birth for a people whose history has been marked by tragedy, down to the devastating events of recent weeks. And yet, the fascination remains intact when faced with the exceptional architectural and cultural heritage that characterises this civilisation. In partnership with Iconem, immersive videos present visitors with a truly unique experience as they discover endangered historic sites such as the emblematic monasteries of Geghard, Haghpat, Hayravank, Kirants and Arakelots, as well as the sites of Surp Hovannes – Meghri and Deghdznut. The exhibition also features exceptional items from the Musée Arménien de France. Miniatures, manuscripts, precious liturgical objects never before exhibited to the public, will be shown alongside works by contemporary artists such as Mekhitar Garabedian, Antoine Agoudjian, Jean Boghossian, Aïda Kazarian and Pascal Convert.

The fortifications of the City of Carcassonne were built in the Gallo-Roman era and  have experienced many upheavals over the centuries. Visitors can discover, noticing materials and architecture, the eventful episodes of the history of the City. On the other hand, it is more difficult to understand the importance of the ramparts in a broader context. Iconem was asked to propose a new visual language for representing heritage using the technique of aerial photogrammetry, by digitizing the entire City. The “Ellipse” project offers an artistic installation containing a 360° immersive space. This mediation place aims to promote local digital creation and to host an attractive program within its walls, even encouraging people from Carcassonne to re-visit this place in a new way.

Avec ce Centre de Lumières, Iconem participe à la refonte du parcours d’exposition de la Saline royale d’Arc-et-Senans, lieu culturel majeur de la région Franche-Comté. Iconem a assuré la maîtrise d’oeuvre globale du projet et créé l’ensemble des vidéos de ce vaste espace immersif, dédié à la question du patrimoine mondial et inauguré en avril 2023. La thématique revêt une importance particulière pour la Saline Royale, qui fut le premier site d’origine industrielle au monde à être inscrit sur la liste du patrimoine mondial. Au travers de 8 films de 8 minutes, le visiteur découvre les merveilles de ces sites souvent menacés ou inaccessibles et plonge au coeur de leur histoire au fil d’une narration en voix-off. Le visiteur voyage ainsi au quatre coins du monde et pénètre dans l’Égypte pharaonique, découvre la cité de Palmyre en Syrie, les temples d’Angkor, ou encore Samarcande en Ouzbékistan. Il parcourt les monuments de Venise, les méandres du Tombeau d’Humayun en Inde et les falaises de la Serrania de la Lindosa, ornées de milliers de peintures rupestres, au coeur de l’Amazonie colombienne. L’installation, complétée par une série de bornes interactives, offre au visiteur un voyage immersif et inoubliable au cœur d’un héritage aux innombrables facettes.

This exhibition is organized in collaboration with Iconem, who produced all the 3D models recreating the four archaeological sites presented in the exhibition: Aleppo, Mosul, Palmyra, Leptis Magna, the ‘‘Age-Old Cities’’. The exhibition is truly immersive, in that it doesn’t showcase objects, but shows projections which alternatively display virtual reconstructions and 3D images of the damaged cities. The purpose of the exhibition is to raise public awareness on the destruction of universal heritage in times of conflict, while allowing visitors to explore these archaeological sites that are difficult to access. The exhibition also highlights the work of local communities to preserve the sites through several testimonies. Ubisoft, French video game studio, used Iconem’s data to curate a virtual reality experience which immerses visitors inside these sites.

This temporary exhibition organized in collaboration with the National Center for Art and Exhibition of the Federal Republic of Germany (Kunstmuseum Bonn), offers from 3D models produced by Iconem, a tour of four archaeological sites: Aleppo, Mosul, Palmyra and Leptis Magna. In 2018, the Arab World Institute in collaboration with Iconem presented the reconstruction of these sites in the form of an immersive projection for the general public. Once again, we would like to share with you this exceptional journey, between virtual reconstruction and 3D images, with the aim of raising awareness among the widest public of the damage to heritage in conflictual times.

The Arab World Institute exhibition travels to Riyadh for a second edition, organized in collaboration with Iconem, who created all the 3D models recreating the four archaeological sites presented in the exhibition: Aleppo, Mosul, Palmyra, Leptis Magna, the ‘Age-old Cities’’. The exhibition is truly immersive in that it doesn’t showcase objects, but shows projections which alternatively display virtual reconstructions and 3D images of the damaged cities. The purpose of the exhibition is to raise public awareness on the destruction of universal heritage in times of conflict, while allowing visitors to explore these archaeological sites that are difficult to access. The exhibition also highlights the work of local communities to preserve the sites through several testimonies. Ubisoft, French video game studio, used Iconem’s data to offer a virtual reality experience that immerses visitors inside these sites.

The “Millenary Cities” experience was presented at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, as part of a temporary exhibition. This tour offers, from Iconem 3D models, the virtual reconstruction of four damaged archaeological sites: Aleppo, Mosul, Palmyra and Leptis Magna. The itinerancy of this exceptional heritage had already met with great success at the Institut du Monde Arabe (Paris), the National Museum of Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) and the Musée de la Romanité (Nîmes). Once again, we wanted to make the widest public aware of the destruction that affects our heritage in conflictual  times. Visitors were able to discover an immersive projection guided by numerous testimonies from the inhabitants of the city and people working to preserve these sites. Thanks to Iconem data, Ubisoft also offered visitors a virtual reality experience at the end of the exhibition.

The Saint-Germain-des-Près church, a former Benedictine abbey in Paris founded in the middle of the 6th century and restored in the 19th century by the architect Victor Baltard,  has always aroused the interest of its visitors. After a meticulous restoration of the church completed in 2020, Iconem’s team was commissioned by the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon to digitize the interior of this monument featuring one of the most beautiful masterpieces produced by the painter Hippolyte Flandrin, assisted by his brother Paul. The exhibition was about its interior, and a part of it benefited from the research and technical analysis carried out by Iconem in support of the restoration project at Saint-Germain-des-Prés. An immersive projection was proposed, based on the digitization of all the interior decorations of the church carried out by our teams, in order to present them to visitors to help them understand the preparatory studies that were presented.

‘‘Crac des Chevaliers’’, an exhibition co-produced by the Médiathèque de l’architecture et du patrimoine and the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine in collaboration with Iconem, explores this iconic Syrian monument through the prism of architecture and politics, by illustrating its symbolic place in Western imaginary. Iconem had already scanned a replica of the Crac des Chevaliers. For the exhibition, we created a 3D model of the building (accomplished on-site thanks to the support of UNESCO) and produced two videos linked to the data collection process. The first video explains this process, as well as the 3D digitization protocol. The second video offers an immersive journey through the Crac. These audiovisual productions allow visitors to explore the Crac des Chevaliers and discover some of its hidden features, like the castle’s interiors.

In 2018, the Paris-based Museum of Plans-Reliefs exhibited a mixed-reality experience for the first time. The “Mont St-Michel, regards numériques sur la maquette” exhibition enabled a renewed and innovative exploration of the scale model representing the Abbey and the city. Thanks to an exceptional partnership with Microsoft, supported by Iconem and Holoforge Interactive, the Museum offered a digital discovery of the Mont Saint-Michel and its scale model through a Hololens helmet (an independent holographic computer) to its visitors. The 12-minute experience superposed Iconem-produced images of the Mont Saint-Michel 3D model onto the physical model, exhibited in front of visitors.

From the pyramids of Giza and the churches of Venice to the island community of Rapa Nui and the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde – join us on an immersive journey to heritage sites facing unprecedented challenges in a changing climate. Using cutting-edge photogrammetry technology, immersive, awe-inspiring imagery, and engaging multi-modal interactives, this exhibition introduces you to four UNESCO World Heritage Sites affected by the climate crisis. Floor-to-ceiling multimedia, hands-on interactives, and model artifacts meld history, culture, science, and technology to transport you to these culturally significant locations. At each stop, you can take a deep dive into the impacts of Earth’s rapidly changing climate on places and peoples across the globe. As you transition between sites, you will reflect on places in the world that you value, explore the scale and distribution of different climate hazards across the globe, and connect with organizations taking action to help us all adapt to life in Earth’s changing landscapes. This exhibit is part of the Museum’s Year of the Earthshot, in which the Museum of Science explores the most innovative climate solutions of our times.

In 2017, Iconem was in Iraq to digitize remains of Nineveh found in tunnels used by ISIS, notably two lamassi, winged-bulls carved in stone. We produced a film featuring the tunnels and lamassis’ 3D models, which was screened at an exhibition at the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities, held in 2018. The exhibition featured more than 250 objects from Nineveh, one of the world’s most powerful cities 2,700 years ago. The Assyrian capital, located in northern Iraq, was a major cultural, military and economic hub. Sponsored by the UNESCO, the exhibition showed digital reconstructions of the (now lost) old city and the royal palace, created by an international academic team.

In 2018, Iconem’s team traveled to Egypt to carry out surveys of several groups of pyramids, using terrestrial recordings and drones. These recordings made it possible to digitize the pyramids in 3D and to create an immersive journey to the heart of the pyramids of Egypt. Produced in collaboration with the cultural leisure site Fly View Paris, this 360° virtual reality tour offers the public the opportunity to discover extraordinary places from a new perspective. The visit is carried out using virtual reality glasses and lasts approximately 18 minutes. Visitors were immersed in the heart of three major UNESCO World Heritage sites, and discovered Saqqara, Meidum and the Giza Plateau. By bringing these monuments to life through the magic of digital technology, Iconem and FlyView intend to raise awareness among the widest public of the crucial issues of heritage preservation.

Exhibited at the British Museum, ‘‘I am Ashurbanipal: King of the World, King of Assyria’’ is a journey into the world of ancient Assyria through the life and legacy of its last great ruler, King Ashurbanipal. The exhibition explores Ashurbanipal’s world through spectacular displays that evoke his palace and highlights the importance of preserving Iraq’s rich cultural heritage for future generations. Iconem contributed to the exhibition by producing a video on Nineveh, based on data collected on-site. The produced video includes before and after effects and positions selected archives on current maps, adding some historical perspective to our geographical understanding of the region. These effects allow visitors to grasp how the ancient Assyrian city overlaps with contemporary Mosul and acts as a valuable complement to the objects showcased in the rest of ‘‘I am Ashurbanipal: King of the World, King of Assyria’’.

The touring exhibition ‘‘Eternal Sites’’, produced by the Réunion des Musées Nationaux - Grand Palais and the Louvre Museum, in collaboration with Iconem, offers an immersion in the heart of four major endangered archaeological sites: the former capital of King Sargon in Khorsabad in Iraq, the Palmyra site, the Crac des Chevaliers and the Umayyad Great Mosque in Damascus, Syria. The mainly digital character of the exhibition facilitates its adaptation to new places. This 360° experience transports visitors to historic sites to raise awareness of heritage threatened or destroyed by armed conflict. The exhibition at the Grand Palais is organized into two sections, the Universal Site and the Images Laboratory. In the Universal Site, four films are screened, revealing on four major archeological sites, in a wide 360° panorama, allowing for an unprecedented immersive experience of the visitor.

The touring exhibition ‘‘Eternal Sites’’, produced by the Reunion des Musées Nationaux – Grand Palais and the Louvre Museum, in collaboration with Iconem, offers an immersion in the heart of four major archaeological sites endangered: the former capital of King Sargon in Khorsabad in Iraq, the Palmyra site, the Crac des Chevaliers and the Umayyad Great Mosque in Damascus, Syria. This Moroccan edition featured additional works from sites such as Nkhila, Banassa, Volubilis, Chellah and the Mosque of Al Quaraouiyne. Bahija Simou, director of the Royal Archives of Morocco and curator of the exhibition, explained that these additional objects allow for the understanding of “the cultural mixing between Christian and Muslim civilizations, and the extent of their influences”. Much like its Grand Palais edition, the digital nature of the exhibition makes it easily adaptable to different spaces, like the Bouregreg cultural complex.

For over seven years, Syria has undergone one of the worst human tragedies since the beginning of this century. The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha chose to highlight this country’s extraordinary cultural heritage with a cycle of events, which ended with the “Syria Matters” exhibition. Thanks to its long-term field work with local professionals, Iconem produced a series of five immersive projections for the exhibition, using its 3D scans of Syrian monuments. With these short films, visitors are able to discover the Saladin Castle, the Azm Palace, the Aleppo Citadel, Palmyra, as well as the Umayyads Mosque in Damascus. Iconem’s 3D models invite visitors into a journey across time and space to discover Syria’s treasures.

The exhibition ‘‘Syrian Symphony: new compositions in sight and sound” aims at exploring the roles of art and artists during conflicts, especially in Syria, through interactive and immersive works. ‘‘Syrian symphony: new compositions in sight and sound” is presented in association with Silkroad, the artistic organization created by reknown cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Similar to an orchestral symphony, the exhibition is divided into four distinct but connected ‘‘movements’’, including an immersive virtual creation entitled ‘‘Third Movement’’ and produced by Iconem. This experience presents monuments of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. The Temples of Bel and Baalshamin are presented, using the data collected during the intervention of Iconem on site, just days after the departure of ISIS. The video is synchronized to a soundscape composed and performed by the Silk Road Ensemble.

The invention of Venice is nothing short of a miracle, and this is what the exhibition Venice Revealed aims to help visitors discover and experience. A miracle of engineering, architecture and art, for several centuries this peerless city built on the unstable mud of a lagoon has been fighting the sea, which represents both a merciless threat and the source of its immense wealth. As they explore, visitors unearth the countless secrets and treasures that escape the eye when strolling through the city. To walk through walls and discover what hides behind them is the dream of all lovers of Venice, and is made a reality by the exhibition Venice Revealed. This exhibition is co-produced by Grand Palais Immersif (a subsidiary of the Rmn - Grand Palais) and Iconem in collaboration with the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia.