SPbPU and CUJAE have launched an international project on digital modeling of cultural heritage sites in Russia and Cuba
The grand opening of the joint international educational project «Digital Modeling of Cultural Heritage sites of Russia and Cuba» took place at the Civil Engineering Institute of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments of St. Petersburg, the Union of Restorers of St. Petersburg, representatives of the Technological University of Havana (CUJAE) and the National Council for Cultural Heritage of Cuba. The project will last for one academic semester until December 15, 2025.
The project is a follow-up to the agreements reached between the universities during the St. Petersburg Days in Havana and Santiago de Cuba in 2024. The project is being implemented with the support of the Union of Restorers of St. Petersburg, the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments of St. Petersburg and the National Council for Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Cuba.
The main goal of the project is to develop long-term educational, scientific and technical cooperation between SPbPU and CUJAE. Special attention is paid to the development of students’ professional competencies in the field of design activities and the use of building information modeling (BIM) technologies for digitalization, preservation and restoration of cultural heritage sites.
During the implementation of the project, students will undergo a comprehensive educational program, including training seminars and classes on the history of architecture in Russia and Cuba, digital modeling of architectural objects, the study of building regulations and standards, as well as the development of specialized software and equipment. The project participants will master the full cycle of work: from archive data analysis and laser scanning to information modeling and the use of augmented and virtual reality technologies.
Each student team will work with buildings that are objects of cultural heritage of their country. Russian students of the Institute of Civil Engineering will explore the estate of Prince Andrei Grigoryevich Gagarin and the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in the village of Belskoye Ustye. Cuban students will focus on studying the headquarters of the Faculty of Physics (Sede de facultad de Física) and the headquarters of the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science of the University of Havana (Sede de facultad de Matemática y Computaciónde la propia Universidad de La Habana).
Following the results of the project, each team will present a set of materials, including a digital information model of the facility, a project presentation and an information booklet describing key elements and security items. The implementation of this project will make a significant contribution to the development of international cooperation in the field of cultural heritage conservation using modern digital technologies.