Coordinated by Profs. Alexandra Gago da Câmara and Helena Murteira from CHAIA (University of Évora), Beta Technologies deployed an historical representation of the city of Lisbon in 1755, shortly before it was destroyed by the 1755 earthquake, to be included in the presentation City and Spectacle: a vision of pre-earthquake Lisbon in the workshop Serious Games in Cultural Heritage at the VAST2008 (Braga, December 2, 2008).

Having previously recreated a model of the Royal Opera House, this latest project involves the recreation of the eastern side of the Terreiro do Paço (Royal Courtyard), including the palaces built by King Manuel and King Phillip, as well as the Terzi Tower. The recreation extends to the Gardens behind the palace and the streets and courtyards leading to the Royal Opera House, which was included in this model.

This was also Beta Technologies’ largest-scale project based on OpenSim server technology, having been built in its entirety on Beta Technologies’ own OpenSim mini-grid. Internauts (residents subscribed to the Open Grid Public Beta Trial) are able to visit the 3D models directly; images are also available here and here.