In July 1969, the army partnered with the São Paulo state government to create Operation Bandeirante: a semi-clandestine agency comprising security agents from various forces, formed with the aim of eliminating communism in Brazil (Huggins, 1998). With private funding, the agency was officially established in 1970 as DOI-Codi, when the National Security Doctrine outlined new security policies treating ideas and citizens as internal enemies. Between 1969 and 1982 – when the agency was dissolved –, at least 7,000 people were tortured at São Paulo facilities, and at least 70 of them were killed in 1982.

The site was recognised as a heritage site in 2014. Since then, survivors, researchers and members of civil society have mobilized, calling for the creation of a museum in the space, even with continued occupation by police. In 2018, these individuals organised the DOI-Codi Memorial Working Group, carrying out activities within the space with the aim of turning it into a museum through a collaborative model. However, the state government is rejecting the creation of a museum, citing a lack of public interest and insufficient resources. In response, and to sustain the ongoing campaign, researchers decided to create the DOI-Codi Virtual Memorial, an innovative digital solution developed to disseminate knowledge about the institution and address the trauma experienced. (Neves, Lima, 2025)

The platform challenges traditional museum practices by proposing the virtual environment as a tool for activating museum activities designed for physical spaces. This is significant in Brazil, where virtual museums are not recognised as museums and there is a lack of public policies addressing this issue.

The virtual museum breaks down physical and ideological barriers, enabling interactive virtual visits to Building 2-A, where interrogations and torture took place, and to the commander's house, possible by 3D scanning of the facilities, carried out in 2023. Despite the fact that police station was also used as a place of imprisonment and torture, it was not possible to apply this technique due to the ongoing use by the police. Therefore a 3D model was created. Visitors can view part of the collection of documents, testimonies and photographs inside the buildings at the site where the events took place. The complete collection is available in a database containing documents, fragments of testimonies and artefacts recovered during archaeological research conducted in 2023 and 2025. The collection is organised using brazilian open-source public tools: Tainacan and Educaplay RNP, aligned with the virtual memorial's goal of promoting open science and encouraging new research. Collaborative curatorship is encouraged, contributing to the strengthening science and reparation in Brazil.

The Virtual Memorial acts as a 'public backup' of the site's knowledge and materiality, ensuring the irrefutability of historical evidence and the potential for memory, even in the absence of a physical memorial. The aim is to increase awareness, reinforce democratic values and support the campaign for the construction of the physical memorial. The virtual memorial is supplementary but does not replace the physical experience of the 'spirit of the place'.