Making Heritage Accessible: Museums and Heritage Building Information Modelling Applied to Neurodiversity Cases

According to the latest agenda issued by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) – the world’s leading organization for museums – cultural venues shall be intended as places where inclusion must hold a hegemonic place of attention throughout the curation, exhibition, and delivery phases. In addition to architectural barriers – formalized since the late 1960s in the Italian law and practices - such venues must indeed consider neurodivergence as a new variable of inclusion and accessibility – aided by the digitization of the cultural heritage, which is yet another priority of this new agenda. Indeed, between 15 and 20% of the world population hold a form of neurodiversity – thus altering the perception and reception of cultural experiences, which are often designed from and to the perspective of neurotypical individuals. Drawing from the provisions set by the ICOM, prioritizing both inclusion and digitization, this thesis seeks to provide a project that operates on a dual theoretical and practical level. The former gathers theories of neurodiversity, cognitive models, and digital learning methodologies applied to the cultural heritage. The latter is designed to conceptualize, develop, and deliver an actual app for one of Turin’s most prestigious museums, Palazzo Carignano. Such apps hybridize 3.0 technologies like Augmented and Virtual Realities (AR and VR), as well as Building Information Modelling (BIM). As the apps were developed through a Design Thinking approach – whereby the app and the functionalities it provides can be integrated and amended throughout the process - the application will be delivered as a fully-functional product with a BIM model of the Palazzo and with a provisional version of both the AR and VR views. The app was conceptualized and developed on the basis of an hypothetical individual with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and was revised by a multidisciplinary board of professionals and validating institutions – i.e., the Direzione Regionale dei Musei (the Regional Authority for Museums), a specialized neurologist (Dr. Keller), as well as an association dedicated to autism (Centro Regionale Disturbi Spettro Autistico, ANGSA and Cuori Blu). The successful development of the app will lead to its actual adoption at Palazzo Carignano and also further potential adapation by other venues belonging to the same Regional Museum Authority. Its mobile-based development and functioning indeed democratizes access, cost, maintenance, and accessibilty versus those apps and products created for often inaccessible technologies designed for devices such as VR headsets, 3D holographic display, or similia. Despite the promising future applications, the app may benefit from further biomedical integrations, improvements, and amendments, which may indeed be the very subject(s) of further doctoral studies – which would take place in the world’s most prestigious cultural destinations, Italy, which however, at times, fail at providing access to all.