Collaboration around Karlskrona/Sweden defense history exhibition
- Post by: Tobias Larsson
- 26th July 2025
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With Destionation Karlskrona as idea owner we supported in the digitalisation and 3D printing of artefacts for the exhibition that has been seen on the main square of central Karlskrona (Stortorget) this summer to display sites of importance for Karlskrona and Swedish defense. Karlskrona is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
“Karlskrona has a rich and fascinating history that often goes unnoticed by both residents and visitors, who may simply pass by without realizing its significance. With this project, our aim was to raise awareness of the city’s historical importance—particularly its role in Sweden’s national defense—and to highlight some of the compelling perspectives connected to it. Our goal was not only to increase appreciation for Karlskrona’s heritage, but also to offer educational and engaging experiences for both locals and tourists.
In collaboration with local museums, the municipality, and Blekinge Institute of Technology, we were able to collect existing online information and virtual experiences related to some of the city’s historical buildings. Additionally, we 3D-printed two of these buildings to bring them to life in a tangible way. This led to the creation of the exhibition “Karlskrona – A Place Worth Defending.”
At Destination Karlskrona, we believe it is essential to involve subject-matter expertise in our projects. This particular initiative has been especially successful and has become a valued addition to the city’s range of cultural and historical experiences.”
Mattias Pettersson, COO, Destination Karlskrona AB
The idea was drafted and put into play via some original sketches.
As the corten steel displays and their content was created, BTH together with Destination Karlskrona and Marinmuseum got access to the orignal model of Gamla mastkranen (from 1803) and 3d scanned it with an Artec Leo laser scanner from BTH Makerspace facilities and tech.
Then the process of taking the digital models of Drottningskärs Kastell (using previous drone scan) and Gamla Mastkranen started, making them ready for 3d print via a preprocessing slicer tool that creates a layered model of each print layer.
After parsing and testing model prints in small scale the full print started. Drottningskärs Kastell is a 80x40X30 cm print, and Gamla Mastkranen is 40x40x80 cm print.
Finally the prints were put in place in the installation on main square.
A challenging, but fun, project when going from physical to virtual and then back to physical again. Scanning a small object (Gamla Mastkranen model) makes it easier to get the needed data, or when a 3d model exist from the design process. When dealing with drone data and scaling it becomes challenging. Still, very fun and a lot of learning in the process. Many thanks to Destination Karlskrona (Stefan Andersson, Mattias Pettersson, and Tilde Larssson), Elena Peverada (of Karlskrona Kommun around World Heritage info, photos etc.) and Marinmuseum (Lina Mårtensson).
Professor Tobias Larsson.
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