• by Larissa Faw , May 2, 2016

Over the past few years, numerous historical sites have been destroyed or lost and now Ogilvy New York is teaming with #Unite4Heritage to launch an interactive site, to develop a crowdsourced online museum.  

The concept will allow people to come together to learn, share and digitally recreate monuments that have been lost or destroyed. The platform utilizes crowdsourced images to virtually recreate artifacts by pairing it with publicly-available online data.  

This project was conceived by European researchers Chance Coughenour and Matthew Vincent who started Rekrei, formerly known as Project Mosul, to promote digital conservation of their historical heritage places using crowdsourced data in a cooperative, open-sourced manner. This organization then brought Ogilvy and Pet Gorilla in as partners to provide technological support. Ogilvy New York designed and produced the site, while Pet Gorilla served as the production company. 

"In many cases, physical restorations are impossible due to the extent of the destruction, but through crowdsourcing the digital preservation of the memory of that heritage, not only does it provide a way for the public to engage with lost heritage, but also to have an active, tangible role in preserving it," said Vincent. 

"This project is very personal to me," says Corinna Falusi, chief creative officer, Ogilvy New York. "If we can use the power of technology to preserve and safeguard these cultural monuments lost over time through conflict and natural disasters, preserving them in one central site, it will hopefully be a gift for generations to come."