01
Preventive conservation
High-resolution 3D model before restoration. Long-lived reference for fragile or non-exhibitable pieces. Cross-time condition comparison.
Culture
Every detail of a work.
On-site digitisation of artworks, furniture and heritage spaces, for conservation, digital mediation and wider access to collections.
Clients
Who we work with
Museums and foundations
Collection scanning on site, including inside reserves. Production of virtual exhibitions, mediation tools, 3D educational content, interactive online viewers.
Galleries
Scanning of works for catalogues, remote presentation to collectors, high-fidelity archiving, loan and exhibition files.
Heritage sites
Lidar and photogrammetric scanning of spaces, rooms, façades, monuments. For archiving, restoration files, public mediation, reproduction of architectural elements.
Selection
Heritage selection
See all Culture workMusée Guimet
La Chine des porcelaines
36 masterpieces from the national collection of Chinese porcelain scanned in storage. Virtual exhibition on Unreal Engine 5, in pixel streaming. Curated by Sophie Makariou and Claire Déléry.
Frac Grand Large
OPEN/FRAC
Dunkirk, 2023: 19 works from the collection, chosen by pupils of the Gaspard Malo secondary school, scanned by photogrammetry inside the Frac's own spaces. Socle also designed the immersive experience that lets visitors explore them on tablet and smartphone, in the Halle AP2.
Mobilier National
Palais disparus de Napoléon
The Tuileries palace reconstructed in 3D with its furniture under Napoleon I: 1,900 m² rebuilt, over 500 objects modelled, 5 pieces scanned by photogrammetry. Online serious game, in pixel streaming.
Ali Cherri
Returning the Gaze
Museo Egizio, Turin, 2024: seven artefacts from the collection, sarcophagi and statues deprived of their gaze. Socle modelled the missing elements in 3D, reshaped to the artist's vision from 3D scans of the artefacts, before casting in polished bronze. Later shown at the Bourse de Commerce, Paris.
Use cases
What scans are for
02
Digital mediation
Visitor manipulation of works in 3D (rotation, zoom, flipping). Web viewers accessible from any device. Educational content for school audiences.
03
Immersive virtual exhibitions
Reconstructions of exhibitions or places. Developed in Unreal Engine 5, accessible online via pixel streaming, no software install required.
04
3D-printed reproduction
High-fidelity facsimiles for touch, education, preservation. Reproduction of architectural elements. Compatible with FDM, SLA, SLS. Mesh optimisation for strength, precision and material economy.
Protocol
Capture to museum standards.
A documented protocol, aligned with the French Ministry of Culture's guide for drafting 3D digitisation specifications: raw acquisition and processing kept separate, documented decimation, metadata for every work. Read the guide
Capture
- No contact with the work once the registrar has positioned it. Motorised turntable, 100 kg, slow movements.
- Continuous lighting, no flash. Conservation conditions respected.
- Lightboxes, synchronised turntable, several camera bodies; remotely operated crane for monumental works.
- High-resolution photogrammetry, sub-millimetre precision, 8K textures as standard. Terrestrial lidar, 2 mm at 10 metres, for spaces.
- On site, in the galleries and in storage. Professional liability insurance covering on-site work.
Processing
- Raw acquisition and processing kept separate, documented decimation, as set out in the Ministry's guide.
- Colour calibration, verifiable chromatic fidelity.
- Guided retopology, PBR maps.
- Dimensional measurements delivered with every scan.
- Validation on a 3D viewer and multi-angle renders before delivery.
Deliverables and guarantees
- Polygonal models (OBJ, FBX, USD, glTF) with PBR maps. Point clouds (PLY, E57) and BIM models for spaces. Real-time web viewers. 3D printing files (STL).
- Raw data available for archiving: source photographs, point clouds.
- Metadata for every work: dimensions, capture conditions, equipment, operator, date.
- Standard NDA or your legal department's contract. Full ownership of the files, no exclusivity clause.
- Master files handed to the institution, in long-lived formats, independent of our infrastructure.
- Used to public procurement: detailed quotes, contractual guarantees, documented deliverables.
In the press
- AD MagazineVirtual tour: the mysteries of Chinese porcelain finally unveiled at the Musée Guimet
- La CroixAt the Musée Guimet, a virtual exhibition of Chinese porcelain
- Club Innovation CultureMusée Guimet: first virtual 3D exhibition of Chinese porcelain
- Beaux ArtsLonely: ultra-contemporary solitude
- SketchfabArt Spotlight: Lonely, Spaced in Lost
Frequently asked
What institutions ask us first.
How do you handle fragile works?
No contact throughout the capture. The piece is positioned once by the institution's registrar; from then on, only the motorised turntable moves, slowly. Continuous lighting, soft lightboxes, conservation conditions respected. The setup adapts to the piece, never the reverse.
Do you work inside reserves?
Yes, it's our standard mode for pieces not on display. The 36 porcelains from the Musée Guimet's national collection were scanned in storage. The 40 Brâncuși works at Centre Pompidou were captured on site within the exhibition.
How do you guarantee file conservation?
Redundant archiving during the project. Master files handed to the institution at delivery, in long-lived formats (OBJ, USD, PLY for point clouds). No technical dependency on our infrastructure.
Are you compatible with public tenders?
Yes. The studio answers calls for tenders and public procurement; it has worked with Centre Pompidou, Mobilier National, Musée Guimet and FRAC Hauts-de-France. Detailed quotes, contractual guarantees, documented deliverables, human and technical resources described.
What metadata do you deliver per work?
For each piece: precise dimensions, capture conditions, equipment used, operator, date. A reference set fit for museum documentation and condition comparison over time.
Can you produce 3D-printed facsimiles?
Yes. Compatible with FDM, SLA, SLS depending on use: facsimiles for tactile mediation, architectural restitution, reproduction of fragmentary elements. Mesh optimisation for strength, precision and material economy.
Can you provide the documents for a funding application?
Yes. For an application to the national programme for the digitisation and promotion of cultural content (PNV) or to a France 2030 call for projects, the studio provides the detailed quote, the protocol description, the delivered formats and metadata, the schedule and references.
What does it cost to keep a virtual exhibition running?
Two items: production, then the monthly hosting of the pixel streaming, sized to the real audience rather than the hoped-for one.
Discuss a heritage scanning project
Quote and budget estimates on request, adapted to the nature, volume and schedule of the project.
Marais studio. Paris 75003. By appointment.
Used to public procurement.