St Kilda - 1880

St Kilda - 1880

We created the very successful 'Virtual St Kilda' exhibit for Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum, North Uist in 2014 and again as an updated exhibit with improved technologies and graphics 10 years later in 2024. St Kilda was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1986 for its natural heritage, and extended in 2004 to include its surrounding marine environment and in 2005 to recognise its importance as a cultural landscape. St Kilda is one of the few World Heritage Sites to hold mixed status for its natural and cultural qualities. St Kilda is of Outstanding Universal Value for its exceptional natural beauty and significant habitats. It is unique in the very high bird densities that occur in a relatively small area, linked to its range of complex and varied ecological niches. The complex ecological dynamic in the marine zones is essential to the maintenance of both marine and terrestrial biodiversity. The cultural landscape is an outstanding example of land use resulting from a type of subsistence economy based on the products of birds, agriculture and sheep farming and reflecting age-old traditions. The built structures and field systems, the cleits and the traditional stone houses bear testimony to over two millennia of human occupation in extreme conditions. The National Trust for Scotland owns the archipelago of St Kilda and manages it, in partnership with Scottish Natural Heritage, Historic Scotland, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), Ministry of Defense and its agents QinetiQ.

reconstructions

2013/14

image/png

Reconstruction

212

In Copyright (InC)

current,57.81252048322344,-8.568509817123415;

https://www.openvirtualworlds.org/st-kilda-1880/

https://player.vimeo.com/video/425826974

Open Virtual Worlds Team University of St Andrews

TEXT

https://canmore.org.uk/site/294832

A digital landscape was created using survey data and height map. Models were created in 3D modelling programs and imported into UNREAL (a cross-platform game engine for creating virtual worlds). The models were then scaled, orientated and assembled. The landscapes were populated with flora and fauna. Where applicable, models of characters and animals were imported and animated.

The islands hold a fascination and relevance for life today. Evacuated in 1930, the remaining 36 islanders left and the St Kilda way of life ended. The St Kilda story speaks to both the challenges and richness of life on the edge of sustainability and the fragility of the lives we lead. In 2014 the Virtual St Kilda exhibit was first shown in the Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum. It featured a digital reconstruction of St Kilda together with songs, stories and performances from the schools and communities of Uist. We recreated the Village Bay as it would have looked, enabling a better understanding of how the island was and the way of life, around 1890 before the evacuation on 29 August 1930. Much has happened since the Virtual St Kilda exhibit was first shown at Taigh Chearsabhagh, both in the spheres of technology and in wider life. Today we are able to represent the island in more detail, bringing new aspects of the island to life. Using gaming technology we represent the landscape and buildings with improved realism, represent some of the characters from the island, and simulate weather conditions. We take you to St Kilda on the bright sunny days, experienced by most who visit the island when the seas are calm. We also simulate the seas and the wind and the weather that made the island inaccessible for much of the year. The National Trust for Scotland owns the archipelago of St Kilda and manages it, in partnership with Nature Scot, Historic Scotland and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Kind thanks to The National Trust for Scotland, for support, and for supplying images and audio for the exhibition. - Taigh Chearsabhagh

Derek Alexander (National Trust for Scotland) Norman Macleod (Operations Manager, Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum)

Sarah Kennedy, Iain Oliver, Alice Watterson, Kieran Baxter, John McCaffrey, Alan Miller

1880