Watch: Blue Lagoon gets a digital twin to safeguard its future

Comino’s Blue Lagoon now has a ‘digital twin’, designed to be able to study and plan sensitive interventions to protect its ecology with millimetre precision, according to the creators of the pioneering technology.

A virtual model of a real-life place, it is a walkable, immersive replica of the site, built from over 4,500 drone photos, 30 hours of footage and two billion data points, using advanced photogrammetry and Unreal Engine technologies.

The result of a year’s work by Mizzi Studio, appointed by the Malta Tourism Authority to deliver the Ecological Restoration and Tourism Plan for Comino’s lagoon, the digital model is set to play a powerful part in understanding the beleaguered site, threatened by overtourism.

Part of the ongoing plan to restore, upgrade and preserve Blue Lagoon’s natural beauty for future generations, the digital replica can show how best to safeguard its delicate ecosystem, from the natural garrigue landscape to the animal and bird life that inhabit the island; and accurately assess the visual impact of proposed designs.

It reveals the current state of ecological health of the garrigue landscape and shows how visitors have impacted the site with unprecedented accuracy, Mizzi Studio said. It has also allowed the studio to design interventions in harmony with nature.

The MTA has partnered with the environmental architecture practice to create what has been described as a “one of the most advanced photoreal 3D maps of a nature reserve ever produced” – a valuable tool in redefining how fragile landscapes are restored, managed and protected.

Revealing every ecological and visual impact on the Natura 2000 site as designs for Blue Lagoon are developed, this sensitive planning tool is considered to the “first national-scale use of digital twinning in eco-tourism planning”, positioning Malta as a “world leader” in the emergent technology for contextual design.

The digital version of the landscape also allowed proposals page to be clearly shared with stakeholders and the public in the upcoming consultation process, said Mizzi Studio director and project architect Jonathan Mizzi.

“Architectural plans are often unreadable by non-architects, so the Digital Twin becomes a valuable democratic tool for ensuring everyone involved in the process to restore the Blue Lagoon has a voice strengthened by a deep understanding of the place,” he said.

The project was initiated through LiDAR (light detection and ranging) scanning of the site in collaboration with the University of Malta’s SIntegraM (MAKS) Immersion Lab.

“Digital Twin technology has given us an unprecedented ability to design with the greatest level of sensitivity to context. It allows us to understand our ecological and visual impacts in ways that would never have been possible before, ensuring that every intervention is respectful,” Mizzi said.

The project was initiated through LiDAR (light detection and ranging) scanning of the site in collaboration with the University of Malta’s SIntegraM (MAKS) Immersion Lab. Mizzi Studio then moved into 3D photogrammetry scanning and in collaboration with Unreal Engine Artist Francis Ghersci to create the photorealistic digital twin.

‘Malta can be a beacon for other destinations’

The interdisciplinary architecture and design studio, with offices in Valletta and London, has worked on international sustainable projects, including the Carbon Garden Pavilion at Kew Gardens in the UK and the Living Bridge at Green School Bali.

Speaking about how Malta is working to balance nature and tourism, Mizzi said the island was “a microcosm of the challenges we are facing globally, as climate change and increasing human pressures are transforming the landscapes we most value.

Visual by Mizzi Studio.

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“Tourism in Malta has long been a source of pride and prosperity, and the island recognises the importance of safeguarding the very landscapes that attract visitors. Blue Lagoon, with its Natura 2000 habitats and rich biodiversity, is under unprecedented ecological pressure.

“Globally, many destinations are grappling with the pressures of rising tourism and environmental change, but through careful design and planning, solutions can be found,” Mizzi said.

Tourism Minister Ian Borg said: “Blue Lagoon’s Digital Twin shows how technology can help heal, not harm, nature. Malta can be a beacon for other destinations facing similar pressures.”