Understanding and Conserving Fortified and Difficult to Access Architectures through Digital Survey

In this paper we propose a multidisciplinary approach concerning the tower of Mongialino in Mineo (Sicily), which is a unique case in Sicily of a cylindrical tower with an inner cylindrical nucleus. The vestiges of the dungeon rise on a rock promontory that dominates the valley of Margi, a site that has great landscape and territorial value. The building is affected by important collapses and lesions, and urgently requires a safeguard intervention that requires a deep knowledge and understanding of the construction. The first step of this process is a suitable documentation and representation of the cylindrical shape and its towering position. The peculiarity of the object requires the integrated use of current technologies of surveying able to provide a metrically-accurate three-dimensional model. The second step is the critic reading of the technological, typological and material elements that constitutes the constructive apparatus of the building (masonry, ribs, ring-like vault), and the geometric analysis addressed at the virtual reconstruction of the original shape.

A New Cloud Library for Integrated Surveys

The chapter presents an innovative way to improve the archaeological landscape, based on researches about Via Flaminia. This is an extraordinary land that collects layered remarkable characteristics i.e. archaeological evidences, historical and natural landscape, ancient and modern infrastructures. Documenting this appreciable heritage is mandatory to use cutting edge technologies of survey, integrated management of data and innovative communication systems. The final purpose is the heritage preservation and its long life. Although previous deep researches and several scientific surveys were carried out, a major lack is their fragmentary non-reusable nature. The regional project “Cultural Evolved District” Flaminia Nextone discusses best practices in culturally based development of this area. The methods are survey and analysis of architectural and archaeological heritage, supported by information technologies. As results, the chapter shows a catalogue of buildings survey, their semantic/ontological organization in a Cloud library (2D/3D) and several outputs collected in exhibitions.

Communication, Technology, and Digital Culture for the Conservation and Enhancement of the Architectural Heritage

In this chapter the main issue is focused on the reconstruction of Reggio and Messina after the earthquake of 1908 has been an opportunity to address the broken and - what is much more difficult and required - the rebalancing of memory and identity of places. Between July 2013 and September 2014 two teams of researchers at the University of Reggio and the MAP CNRS Marseille have formed a partnership to test new communications systems, technology and digital culture applied to cultural and architectural heritage. The responsibilities of the MAP CNRS, directed by Prof. Livio De Luca and the field of investigation and experimentation defined by Atelier of thesis of Prof. Francesca Fatta, found an interaction system useful for the definition of design systems for a Museum of collective memory in Reggio Calabria. The digital experiments were compared with the taking of photogrammetric works recovered from the earthquake of 1908 in Reggio, three-dimensional modeling and integrated reading systems aimed at the restoration and augmented reality.

A Possible Method for 3D Photo Scanning Speed Survey

More and more studies have been conducted in the field of architectural survey: the development and the optimization of new technologies, are greatly expanding the range of application, reaching more properly engineering areas. Strong standardization of infographics technologies the way of restitution of the artifacts is changing: no more - and not only - bi-tridimensional productions, but conceptual analysis and representations that go beyond the simple “visual” aspect of the work on which we investigate. However, we encounter new and important problems about the standards to be followed and the reliability and compatibility of the implemented procedures and methodologies. The aim of this chapter is the definition of a documentation able to guarantee the scientific survey operations, a decay of the errors and an adequate graphical output, combining the direct survey to the photo scanning technique applying this methodology to the survey of Sant'Angelo Fasanella bridge in province of Salerno.

Comparative Study of Graphic Representation Methods on Architectural Heritage

Today there are many publications or papers related with several graphic surveys of architectural heritage carried out using a variety of both traditional and cutting edge methods. Yet, the implementation of new graphical documentation systems, such as Automated Digital Photogrammetry, has introduced a fresh approach to dealing with architectural surveys by making them more accessible to the general public and, to a certain extent, increasing their usability (Garfella, Máñez, Cabeza, & Soler, 2014). The present study aims, on the one hand, to offer an overview of architectural survey systems and, on the other hand, to evaluate the differences in the degree of precision or accuracy between the latest state-of-the-art methods and the already well-established ones. This will enable us to examine the results obtained in this experiment to look for concordances and discrepancies between them that can be helpful when using such systems to deal with tasks in the future.

Digital Photogrammetry and Structure from Motion for Architectural Heritage

The goal of this paper is to focus on multi-image monoscopic digital photogrammetry, illustrating several types of applications used in a single case study chosen for its unique characteristics: Palazzo dei Capitani del Popolo in the main square in the old town centre of Ascoli Piceno. The description of this experimentation will be illustrated in the paper not only to assess the potential and limits of these systems, but also to place them in a scientific context and recall the theoretical fundamentals of this method, since we believe these in-depth studies to be increasingly necessary in order for these digital technologies to be used properly.

Female Architecture

The objective of this study is that one, starting from the initial considerations, to give back to the history of architecture, through drawing as a critical means of inquiry, the thought and work of some women-architect who, between 1926 and 1962, have designed and/or built buildings of fine architectural quality. The critical re-drawing, which in this case is mimetic to the construction of the project, wants to make manifest the thought of some figures of the Modern Movement often relegated to an unknown fate; in particular it analyses a part of the activity of Lilly Reich, Helena Niemirowska Syrkus and Charlotte Perriand. The study aims to build a graphic inedited and exhaustive repertory of some unrealized projects, carried out by these women that can be defined “pioneer” of modern architecture, giving back a female thought of the project's construction. The drawing of architecture, as ambit of critical analysis, in this study assumes a substantial role when it investigates the project which is the central place of its true expression.

The Advantages of Using Laser Scanners in Surveying in Protected Sites

Since the 2000s, terrestrial laser scanning, as one of the methods used to document historical edifices in protected areas, has taken on greater importance because it mitigates the difficulties associated with working on large areas and saves time while also making it possible to better understand all the particularities of the area. Through this technology, comprehensive point data (point clouds) about the surface of an object can be generated in a highly accurate three-dimensional manner. Furthermore, with the proper software this three-dimensional point cloud data can be transformed into three-dimensional rendering/mapping/modeling and quantitative orthophotographs. In this chapter, the study will present the results of terrestrial laser scanning and surveying which was used to obtain three-dimensional point clouds through three-dimensional survey measurements and scans of silhouettes of streets in Fatih in Historic Peninsula in Istanbul, which were then transposed into survey images and drawings. The study will also cite examples of the facade mapping using terrestrial laser scanning data in Istanbul Historic Peninsula Project.

The SIArch-Univaq

SIArch-Univaq is a knowledge-based instrument for the cataloging of historical architectural heritage, created to provide a powerful cognitive tool to all operators interested in studies and conservation. The principle characteristic of this architectural Information System is its notable capacity of in-depth analysis, going down to the identification of all the constructive components with simplicity of consultation, activated by one or more three-dimensional models deliberately created. Conceived at the University of L'Aquila (Italy) it was developed in the framework of research financed with funds from the Ministry for University and Scientific Research made available for projects of relevant national interest (PRIN). This article describes its structure, characteristics and functionalities.

Semantic Representation of Accurate Surveys for the Cultural Heritage

For years the traditional documentation of existing architecture has been represented by surveys, carried out with direct measuring, annotations and eidotypes. This approach is still pervasive today, but many modern metrologic technologies, such as digital photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning, enhanced the information-gathering pipeline particularly in the Cultural Heritage context. This chapter investigates a methodology able to express semantics and parametric interconnections among elements, proposed in order to translate real shapes into “smart” digital architectural components, using some piece of software specifically written in order to manipulate accurate geometries; following this approach, which will be improved more and more by future plugin developments, information can be organized into proper hierarchical BIM frameworks that proved to be strategic in the recording of “as-built” conditions, result of inferences of geometric and topological information in digital models.