The health crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic created an unprecedented social situation. In the most critical moments, tourism activities were cancelled or reduced to their minimum operation, creating an extreme situation of separation of a country’s heritage from residents and tourists. The objective of this work is to propose new options and strategies to reconnect the public with heritage under any circumstance and, at the same time, offer tourism services in healthy, secure conditions. Thus, live-streaming experiences of online interpretative tourist guidance were developed in heritage spaces; those visits were led by real guide-interpreters in a real environment and transmitted for remote visitors. We have called this visiting model the “Avatar Tourist Visit”. It is based on tools associated with Heritage Interpretation, Interpersonal Communication, Filmmaking and Audio-Visual Language, and Information and Communication Technologies. The methodological development of this tool was based on Design Sciences Research as the creation of a new procedure was pursued. The result is a sustainable, immersive, interactive, inclusive, unique, and resilient tourism product designed not only for times of crisis but also to connect the public with heritage at all times and ensure universal access to it. In addition, this activity constitutes a marketable experience as a specialized and customizable tourist product.

Over more than ten centuries, Maya vaults had great technical developments that allowed to achieve constructive and structural advanced systems and increasingly improved forms. One of the key factors to consider when studying its temporal evolution and the different regional variants is the stone vaults shape. This work is based on data collected during fieldwork and comparative analysis of a wide sample of vaults from different geographical zones and chronological periods, and as a result proposes a classification of the Maya stone vaults. The study of the influence of stereotomy on its form and the analysis of the use of different types of stone vaults by zones offer new data to understand the technological evolution of vaulted Maya architecture and the transfers of building knowledge.

This paper focuses on the use of 3D printing as a tool for the dissemination of Maya architectural heritage. The case study is the Acropolis of La Blanca, the main complex of this archaeological site located in the Peten department, Guatemala. One of the objectives of La Blanca Project was to create a model of the Acropolis as part of the strategy for dissemination and as a didactical resource for the Visitor Center. The documentation of this architectural complex with digital survey techniques allowed to obtain a high-fidelity model of the Acropolis’ buildings. In order to achieve this goal, it was necessary to develop a methodology for the reverse modelling of the Acropolis, starting from the data obtained by laser scanning. We developed a workflow to create a virtual replica of the Acropolis optimized for 3D printing. This model was first printed in 17 parts by using the FDM technology. Then, it was transported to Guatemala and, finally, it was reassembled and placed at the Visitor Center. Today, this physical replica of the Acropolis is an important resource that allows the visitors to have a complete view of the main complex of the site, which is not easy in the Guatemalan jungle. It also provides an exclusive view of some parts of the Acropolis, already studied by researchers and now protected with a soil layer to ensure their preservation. Moreover, it is a useful resource for supporting dissemination and also serves as a teaching resource for student visitors.

The Mosteirinho de São Francisco was built around 1635, in a period when the Dutch dominated the northeast of Brazil. It is a building of simple architecture but representative of this singular historical context. It was declared as national heritage in 1966, but today it is abandoned, in an advanced state of degradation, and involved in a judicial process regarding its property. This paper presents the main results of the architectural and conservation studies on the building, as well as the methodology to create a 3D model of its current state as a basis for designing an adaptive reuse proposal that seeks to rescue its heritage values.

En el área maya, el estudio de la arquitectura prehispánica se ha abordado tradicionalmente desde la disciplina de la arqueología. Los estudios constructivos y estructurales de los edificios, así como el análisis de los mecanismos de degradación que les afectan, han quedado en muchos casos relegados a un segundo plano. Sin embargo, este patrimonio cultural, ampliamente valorado a nivel internacional, presenta una gran monumentalidad y complejas situaciones de conservación, por lo que su investigación y restauración requieren la participación de equipos multidisciplinares. El trabajo que aquí se presenta forma parte de una investigación con enfoque arquitectónico sobre la bóveda maya, el sistema de techumbre más avanzado de esta arquitectura y, quizás, una de las mejores expresiones del auge constructivo y de la evolución tecnológica de dicha civilización. A partir de una exhaustiva toma de datos en campo, con especial énfasis en los aspectos constructivos, se han analizado los principales agentes patológicos y los mecanismos de degradación que afectan a los edificios abovedados mayas. Se ha podido comprobar que las características constructivas de estos edificios, así como su proceso de construcción, determinan en muchos casos no sólo sus rasgos estilísticos, sino también las formas de colapso de estas estructuras. En este trabajo se estudia cómo inciden los aspectos constructivos de los edificios abovedados mayas en su proceso de deterioro y derrumbe.