Span Library: Expe­ri­en­cing 3D Culture Digitally

Digi­tal tech­no­lo­gies are chan­ging the way we expe­ri­ence culture. On the one hand, they offer new oppor­tu­ni­ties for muse­ums, archi­ves, and libra­ries. Visi­tors and rese­ar­chers can disco­ver objects on digi­tal plat­forms regard­less of exhi­bi­tion times or loca­tion. Archi­ves are easier to manage and histo­ri­cal coll­ec­tions are acces­si­ble to a wider public.

Howe­ver, progress also brings complex chal­lenges: the tran­si­tion from a physi­cal exhi­bi­tion to the digi­tal world is a diffi­cult one. With Span Library, David Colom­bini, co-foun­der of INT studio, is deve­lo­ping a digi­tal solu­tion toge­ther with the Vaud compa­nies Conci­lio and Arca­nite to over­come these hurd­les. Colom­bini and his two part­ners from the ECAL, Laura Nieder and Marc Dubois, are among the most inno­va­tive minds in the art and design scene in French-spea­king Switz­er­land. They are also part of the Lausanne artist coll­ec­tive frag­men­tin, which deli­bera­tely moves between design and art and natu­rally incor­po­ra­tes tech­no­logy into its production.

The Span Library plat­form enables muse­ums to inde­pendently digi­tize, manage and publish 3D objects, thus setting new stan­dards in the digi­tal disse­mi­na­tion of cultu­ral heritage.

Digi­tal Self-Deter­mi­na­tion for Museums

The deve­lo­p­ment of Span Library was not inten­ded to be a tech­ni­cal gimmick discon­nec­ted from culture, but rather a close colla­bo­ra­tion with muse­ums. “We wanted to create a tool that muse­ums could use inde­pendently, without complex tech­ni­cal hurd­les and without the need for exter­nal specia­lists for each indi­vi­dual step,” explains David Colom­bini. The central idea is that of digi­tal self-deter­mi­na­tion: muse­ums should not only digi­tize their objects, but also be able to inde­pendently manage, measure, enrich and commu­ni­cate them.On the same basis, this content can then be easily distri­bu­ted on various media: online on the museum’s website, in the exhi­bi­tion room in the form of inter­ac­tive instal­la­ti­ons, on tablets at events outside the museum, or even via 3D prin­ting for commu­ni­ca­tion with child­ren and people with disabilities.

3D Tech­no­logy in the Exhi­bi­tion Room

The plat­form combi­nes 3D scans with contex­tual infor­ma­tion and storytel­ling elements, crea­ting digi­tal twins of objects that can not only be viewed from all angles, but also rese­ar­ched and commu­ni­ca­ted, and in some cases even reduce trans­port and logi­stics costs. In the long term, the solu­tion is inten­ded to be compa­ti­ble with the exis­ting data­base systems of the muse­ums and to inte­grate seam­lessly into their infra­struc­ture. It can also be used in educa­tio­nal programs, rese­arch projects or exhi­bi­ti­ons. “With Span Library, we want to provide exper­tise that many insti­tu­ti­ons cannot deve­lop them­sel­ves,” says Colom­bini. “At the same time, we want to ensure that the results serve the public inte­rest and remain acces­si­ble in the long term.”

Today, around 16 pilot muse­ums in Switz­er­land, most recently the Museum of Design in Zurich, are accom­pany­ing the further deve­lo­p­ment of the proto­type and test­ing the appli­ca­tion in the context of work­shops or demons­tra­ti­ons. As the first custo­mer, the Musée Romain de Nyon has been inte­gra­ting Span Public+ since Novem­ber 2025, the first module available that pres­ents its archaeo­lo­gi­cal objects in 3D via a tactile instal­la­tion in the exhi­bi­tion space. 3D digi­tiza­tion is thus not only being made acces­si­ble to large insti­tu­ti­ons; small and medium-sized insti­tu­ti­ons, which often have limi­ted resour­ces, are also bene­fiting from Span Library.

«Culture et Inno­va­tion» as a shared vision

To ensure the long-term deve­lo­p­ment of Span Library, David Colom­bini has joined the board of the “Asso­cia­tion Culture et Inno­va­tion”, which is made up of experts from the fields of culture, muse­ums and inno­va­tion. Accor­ding to Colom­bini, the orga­niza­tion was crea­ted as a result of a simple obser­va­tion: “Digi­tal tech­no­lo­gies are deve­lo­ping very quickly, while the cultu­ral sector is expe­ri­en­cing a growing need to better under­stand the digi­tal trans­for­ma­tion and to think about inno­va­tion together.” 

The initia­tive is thus respon­ding to a key chall­enge in the cultu­ral sector: digi­tal inno­va­tion projects often span seve­ral disci­pli­nes – culture, design, tech­no­logy, educa­tion and commu­ni­ca­tion – and are diffi­cult to fit into exis­ting funding frame­works. “Inno­va­tion in the cultu­ral sector requi­res diffe­rent time­frames and forms of support,” says Colom­bini. This makes it more diffi­cult to obtain support in the early stages of a project than for start-ups in sectors such as biotech­no­logy or fintech.

The initia­tive crea­tes a space in which precis­ely these inter­face projects can be speci­fi­cally promo­ted and further deve­lo­ped. “The main purpose is to support inno­va­tive cultu­ral projects,” says Colom­bini. As the first and central project, the Asso­cia­tion Culture et Inno­va­tion is ther­e­fore support­ing the further deve­lo­p­ment of Span Library.

Cultu­ral promotion

Inter­di­sci­pli­nary initia­ti­ves are chal­len­ging. For them to be successful, stake­hol­der manage­ment is crucial. In other words, it is important to main­tain cont­act in all direc­tions and to gradu­ally intro­duce the subject. Doors must first be opened, and many discus­sions must take place before this can happen. This is proba­bly why the new orga­niza­tion sees itself as a network plat­form for muse­ums, specia­lists and part­ner insti­tu­ti­ons. “We want to share know­ledge, deve­lop joint projects and enable new forms of colla­bo­ra­tion around digi­tal tools and cultu­ral heri­tage,” says Colombini. 

The Span Library has alre­ady bene­fi­ted from finan­cial support from the Canton of Vaud under the SyNNergy program. In order to support the imple­men­ta­tion of the project in the future, three major funding appli­ca­ti­ons have been submit­ted in coope­ra­tion with part­ner insti­tu­ti­ons to various foun­da­ti­ons: with the three muse­ums in Nyon, with the Swiss Museum of Games, and with mudac and a German-spea­king museum. The decis­i­ons of the first two foun­da­ti­ons are expec­ted this spring, while an abstract will be submit­ted shortly for the third foundation.

“These initia­ti­ves will allow us to conti­nue the deve­lo­p­ment of Span Library and at the same time apply it to concrete case studies in colla­bo­ra­tion with various types of muse­ums and their needs,” Colom­bini hopes. Span Library is not only to be further deve­lo­ped as a tech­ni­cal plat­form, but above all as part of a sustainable digi­tal trans­for­ma­tion of cultu­ral insti­tu­ti­ons in Switz­er­land. This is to show that inno­va­tive and sove­reign solu­ti­ons – espe­ci­ally in the area of data storage in Switz­er­land – can be deve­lo­ped from the cultu­ral sector.