Project

COLOURS

Project COLOURS - Collaborative On-cloud Lab for the conservation and digital restoration of ColOUred heritage collectionS

Vision

Project COLOURS - Collaborative On-cloud Lab for the conservation and digital restoration of ColOUred heritage collectionS - aims to transform the practice of conservation-restoration of cultural heritage by placing colour at the centre of an innovative digital framework. The project develops advanced tools and collaborative environments to analyse, simulate and visualise the results of conservation-restoration, enabling more accurate and sustainable conservation strategies for Europe's most precious heritage objects. These tools will be fully integrated into the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH) to make them accessible and scalable for all stakeholders. You can find out more about the project on CORDIS (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101233413).

Key objectives

The COLOURS project is structured around four main objectives:

Create a collaborative environment
We are creating a hybrid digital space where conservators, conservator-restorers, curators, heritage scientists, etc. can meet and interact in real time with 3D digital twins of heritage objects, regardless of their location.
Develop predictive tools for conservation-restoration
We are adapting and deploying AI-based tools that allow professionals to predict and simulate different conservation and restoration strategies.
Create tools to support conservation-restoration
The project will provide a set of digital tools to assist, document and optimise the physical preservation-restoration process itself.
Increase public involvement
Through immersive storytelling and mixed reality (AR/VR), we aim to make the conservation-restoration process more transparent and engaging for the public.

Approach

COLOURS follows a pilot project-oriented methodology, combining advanced technology with a stakeholder-centred process. We start by identifying realistic conservation and restoration scenarios and working with heritage professionals to identify their needs. Based on this information, we develop and adapt digital tools and ensure their seamless integration with the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage (ECCCH). We then demonstrate and validate these tools through a series of internal as well as external pilots, allowing us to create lasting impact with user-friendly solutions. In doing so, we use 7 methodological project steps:

Define conservation and restoration scenarios and stakeholder needs,
involve heritage experts to define specific requirements,
develop and adapt digital AI tools and algorithms,
tools are integrated into the ECCCH infrastructure,
Demonstrate in-house pilot projects,
conduct external pilot projects with partner institutions,
validate, improve and extend the final solutions.

COLOURS as an extension of PERCEIVE

COLOURS builds on two years of research and development carried out under PERCEIVE (https://perceive-horizon.eu/), a Horizon 2020 initiative that has developed state-of-the-art methods to protect and promote the authenticity of cultural heritage through advanced prototypes, digital tools and services - with a particular focus on colour perception, visual simulation and multimodal interaction. The COLOURS project directly applies these technologies to the practice of conservation-restoration and preservation of heritage objects. By placing colour at the heart of conservation-restoration efforts, the project builds on the methodologies developed in PERCEIVE and develops tools that reveal the historical significance of colours, simulate their original vibrancy and ensure that conserved-restorated objects reflect their true authenticity and impact. An example of a digital tool developed and refined in the PERCEIVE and COLOURS projects is MuLaX (https://perceive-horizon.eu/index.php/results/perceive-tools/tool-mulax/), which offers users new ways to access, discover and study the diagnostic processes of heritage science in relation to multi-layered built heritage objects directly online. The COLOURS colour knowledge repository extends and builds on the foundations of PERCEIVE and integrates them into the ECHOES-ECCCH environment (https://www.echoes-eccch.eu/).