PURE3D is a three year project funded by the Platform Digitale Infrastructuur – Social Science & Humanities (PDI-SSH) based at Maastricht University, with collaborators at the Common Lab Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities (CLARIAH), Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS), the 4D Research Lab (UvA), Nederlands Mijnmuseum, Museum van Bommel van Dam, Erfgoed Leiden en Omstreken, and Gemeente Maastricht.  

PURE3D is developing a digital infrastructure for the publication and preservation of 3D scholarship. Such an infrastructure is timely as it addresses a growing research area, elevating 3D models from static representations to 3D scholarly editions. Building on the conventions of text-based digital scholarly editions, PURE3D will provide tools to a) integrate multiple types of source materials (e.g., annotations, images, video, structured/unstructured data); and, b) document the creation process (paradata), providing users with direct access to the modelling and interpretative choices creating a multimodal resource impossible to replicate in print form.   

Thus the goal of PURE3D is to develop 1) an access infrastructure for viewing interactive 3D models (from single objects to virtual worlds) within the context of a scholarly publication format (3D Scholarly Editions); 2) a preservation repository to deposit raw files, which, due to their size, format, lack of standards etc., are typically inaccessible to researchers beyond the original creators; 3) a conceptual and methodological framework for valorising and evaluating 3D scholarship; and, 4) a centre of excellence for researchers embarking on 3D scholarship. The infrastructure will also address the challenges of long-term preservation and access by archiving models and making associated data FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). 

As part of the project, PURE3D will be looking to the community that works with 3D models for advice and input in the form of surveys, workshops, and focus groups. There will also be a call for new projects in 2023. Explore our Pilot Projects, Partner Institutions and follow us on Twitter @pure3DNL, Facebook, and LinkedIn.