Heratio Help Center article. Category: Public Access.

Reconstruction Montage User Guide

Overview

The Reconstruction Montage lets you watch a lost or damaged structure rebuild itself before you step inside its digital twin. Instead of being dropped straight into a finished 3D model, you first see the building assemble piece by piece, with a time-lapse that compresses the story of how it once stood - and how it came apart. The montage sets the emotional and historical context, then hands you off into an interactive walkthrough of the reconstructed space. Open the list at /reconstructions, or try a worked example at /reconstructions/demo.

What it does

The Reconstruction Montage turns a 3D reconstruction into a short, guided experience rather than a static viewer:

• It plays an assembly sequence - the structure builds up from its parts, so you see the form take shape rather than appearing all at once.
• It runs a time-lapse, compressing change over time so a long history reads as a short, watchable sequence.
• It then leads into the digital twin - the interactive reconstruction you can walk through once the montage has set the scene.
• It frames a lost structure with context, helping visitors grasp what was there, why it matters, and what has been reconstructed.

It is built for public audiences, exhibitions, and teaching, where the goal is to convey loss and recovery, not just to display a model.

How to use it

1. Go to /reconstructions to see the available reconstructions, or open /reconstructions/demo for a ready-made example.
2. Press play (or simply let it run) to watch the assembly - the structure rebuilds itself from its components.
3. Follow the time-lapse as it moves through the structure's history.
4. When the montage finishes, continue into the walkthrough to explore the reconstructed twin yourself - move around, look in any direction, and inspect the space.
5. Replay the montage at any time if you want to revisit the build-up before exploring again.

Good to know

• The montage is the lead-in; the walkthrough is the destination. You can always skip ahead to explore the model directly once the context has been set.
• A reconstruction is an interpretation grounded in evidence, not a photograph of the past. Where details are uncertain, treat the model as a considered reconstruction rather than a definitive record.
• /reconstructions/demo is a self-contained example that always works, which makes it a good first stop and an easy thing to share or present.
• The experience is designed for public access - no specialist software is required beyond a modern web browser.