The conversation focused on the powerful potential of AR to reconnect communities with their architectural heritage. With inCitu’s lightweight, app-free platform, these long-lost structures can be re-experienced directly on site—layered over the present-day landscape using just a mobile device.

This webinar highlighted not only what’s technologically possible, but also what’s culturally meaningful: creating immersive, location-based experiences that make local history accessible, engaging, and visible in ways never before possible.

Paul Turner, founder of Virtual America, brings a deep background in reality capture, virtual tours, and immersive storytelling for historic sites. His work intersects archival research, advanced modeling, and cutting-edge AR technology—making him an ideal partner in pushing the boundaries of digital preservation.

Our collaboration began with a pilot project in Charleston, SC, where we explored how AR could help visualize proposed developments like the city’s new seawall. But as the project evolved, so did our ambition—to not just look forward, but also to look back.

‍

The Lost Charleston Project

Together, we’ve been working on Lost Charleston, a bold effort to digitally reconstruct historically significant buildings that no longer exist—some erased by fire or natural disaster, others lost to redevelopment.

Led by historical research from Lee Jones Handel and powered by inCitu’s AR capabilities, this project aims to honor the past while offering new ways to engage with it in the present. Five initial reconstructions were featured in the webinar:

• Charles Pinckney Mansion (1750): Once Charleston’s grandest private home, now just an empty lot. Our AR model brings it back to its original footprint.
• Bennett Rice Mill (1845): A landmark of Charleston’s rice economy, now partially preserved. The model blends Historic American Building Survey data with redevelopment context.
• Thompson Auditorium (1899): A civic and cultural hub for decades, lost to fire. Our digital version combines archival plans with modern LiDAR scans.
• Charleston Union Station (1908): Gone since 1947, this major transportation hub is now visible again through AR overlays informed by maps and photographs.

Each model was carefully constructed in SketchUp and AutoCAD, exported as USDZ files, and made accessible through inCitu’s AR platform—enabling the public to explore these buildings where they once stood.

‍

Expanding Possibilities

Our conversation with Paul also looked ahead. What if museum visitors could “step outside” to see a long-demolished building in its original location? What if planners and preservationists used AR to advocate for redevelopment that respects the past?

From museum exhibits to permanent AR signage, from education to tourism, the applications are expanding—and inCitu is committed to supporting them.

We’re also exploring ways to bring these reconstructions to life with oral histories and stories from the communities that once animated these places. It’s not just about visualizing the past—it’s about making it feel alive.