From Silence to Story: Revisiting TCD’s Long Room through Acoustics and Immersive Storytelling
Funded by: Trinity Doctorate Research Award for Group-based Research Projects 2026
Core Principal investigators: Nicole Basaraba (Digital Humanities); Jennifer O’Meara (Film Studies); Gareth Young (Computer Science); Nils Peters (Engineering)
Supporting Principal Investigators: Fionnuala Conway (Engineering); John Kennedy (Engineering); Francis Boland (Engineering)
About the group project:
The renovation and public closure of Trinity College Dublin’s (TCD) Long Room of the Old Library present an unparalleled opportunity to conduct pioneering research “on”, “through”, and “for” this iconic space. This initiative will redefine how we preserve and enhance one of Europe’s premier cultural heritage landmarks. This project will delve into aspects of the Long Room that have been largely overlooked: its acoustic experiences and sonic architecture. This project will use state-of-the-art robot-aided acoustic measurements and employ advanced computational and acoustic modelling techniques to create a versatile Acoustic Digital Twin, which will be combined with existing 3D image data.
This approach allows for an unprecedented exploration of Long Room’s physical properties, enabling new acoustic experiences for both physical and virtual visitors. Previous related research includes the “Jonathan Swift in VR/AR Long Room Project” in 2018. The From Silence to Story project will create immersive XR experiences that preserve and reimagine the library’s significance through site-specific media art and storytelling. This research will set a precedence for future heritage preservation efforts by developing a preservation-by-design strategy accompanied by experts at TCD’s digital library and the Digital Repository of Ireland. This project addresses the Trinity College’s research themes on “Identities in Transformation” and “Digital Humanities” by preserving and innovating the Long Room through state-of-the-art acoustic and digital technologies. By creating immersive and interactive experiences, we aim to foster meaningful connections between visitors and the cultural significance of the Long Room. Furthermore, this project aims to promote inclusiveness by enabling personalised experiences for vision-impaired and hearing-impaired visitors and for those with diverse linguistic backgrounds and neurodivergent needs. We aim to create a resilient digital preservation system for sustainable long-term inclusive access.
The project comprises four work packages including the training of four PhD researchers in four different disciplines under one unifying project goal: To preserve, enhance, and reimagine the Long Room Library’s unique acoustic and cultural heritage by creating a pioneering Digital Acoustic Twin that integrates advanced acoustic measurements with immersive storytelling tools, fostering innovative interdisciplinary research and transformative cultural experiences.
The project’s interdisciplinary PhD Team (2026-2030):
Click on the hyperlinks below to download the call for four doctoral students will be funded under this award with specialisations across the domains of:
- Engineering PhD-1: “A data-driven Acoustic Digital Twin for Heritage Preservation and Interactive Experiences”, primary supervisor: Nils Peters
- Computer Science PhD-2: “Advanced Computational Models and Digital Tools for Immersive Storytelling”, primary supervisor: Gareth Young
- Creative Arts PhD-3: “Audiovisual Media Experiences using the Long Room’s Multimodal and Acoustic Digital Twin”), primary supervisor: Jennifer O’Meara
- Digital Humanities PhD-4: “Sonic Narrative Approaches to Cultural Heritage – The Long Room’s Digital Twin”, primary supervisor: Nicole Basaraba
This unique multidisciplinary approach will provide the students with invaluable experiences and skills extending far beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, preparing them to become leaders in academia or industry settings.
Recruitment calls for PhDs 1 and 2 will be announced soon.
The Long Room of the Old Library. Read more about the history here: https://www.tcd.ie/library/old-library/long-room/
