Cultural Heritage - Documentation, Conservation & Information
Lectures from Prof. Stefano Bertocci und Julien Letellier
On Friday, January 24th at 10am, Prof. Stefano Bertocci and Julien Letellier gave a lecture on »Remote Sensing in Archaelogy and Architectural Heritage: Digital Documentation for Knowledge and Conservation« (Bertocci) and »Virtual Reality with High Resolution 3D Models for Research and Education« (Letellier).
Copyright: Stefano Bertocci
Stefano Bertocci: Remote Sensing in Archaelogy and Architectural Heritage: Digital Documentation for Knowledge and Conservation
The Laboratory of Survey (Laboratorio di Rilievo LRA) of the Department of Architecture University of Florence brought together the experiences of academic professors and researchers with public and private partners in order to promote and develop the digitalization of the archaeological, architectural, urban and environmental heritage. The major activities carried out by the LRA are for the most part the result of cooperation agreements between Italian and foreign institutions, and have been performed in partnership with specialized companies interested in developing specific technologies in digital documentation and remote sensing. The laboratory performs the use of 3D laser scanner, drones, Structure from Motion (SfM) applications. The collected data allow simulations and assessments in terms of environmental impact and offer the possibility to develop instruments in the field of Virtual Heritage. The presentation shows a synthesis of some of selected experiences carried out in Italy and abroad in the last years, starting from the digital survey and redrawing of architecture, archeological sites and cities for the development of intervention, restoration and management plans, to get to the development of reliable 3D models for the enhancement and valorization of Cultural Heritage. The research were carried out especially in the perspective of a cultural international cooperation and in collaboration with government authorities and local administration, mainly focused on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Each project shows a different step of analysis and research, starting from the Kizhi Pogost, in Russia, the Sanctuary of La Verna (AR) in Tuscany and the archaeological site of Masada in Israel. Then the analysis move to the study of cities and historic centres, with the examples of São Paulo in Brasil, Trogir in Croatia and the documentation of the traditional shops in the UNESCO city center of Florence. The last three projects show the steps of modeling and rendering for the enhancement and valorization of cultural heritage with the research carried out in the Mosque of Al-Jazzar in Akko (Israel), the site of Nabi Musa (State of Palestine) and the Palace of Generalife in Granada (Spain).
Copyright: Julien Letellier
Julien Letellier: Virtual Reality with High Resolution 3D Models for Research adn Education
In the past four years, the EU-funded research project APOLLO has been using virtual reality (VR) to develop experiences that create access to a wide audience (especially to get younger people interested in classical music), to expand the experience by providing new perspectives and to educate interactively. This requires high-resolution 3D models to create an immersive virtual environment. However, manual 3D modelling of complex environments is usually a costly process. Complex geometries of buildings and artefacts have to be accurately modelled by 3D artists, materials and textures have to be created and the lightning has to be pre-baked or arranged in a 3D scene. To simplify this process, manual models can be combined with photogrammetry for high-polygonal artefacts. Depending on the use case, the accuracy and detail in the modelling process can be further reduced, which also increases performance for the rendering in VR. The presentation focuses on two use cases. The first was intended to develop different techniques for visualisation and interaction in virtual tours. The resulting best-practice application guides visitors through the Konzerthaus Berlin using a head-mounted display and conveys historical and architectural insights of the building. One of the key focus points of the research was the development of a natural 3D environment that would allow visualisation of historical photographs and video snippets. The second use case combines our interactive 3D environment with current research in virtual acoustics to provide a testbed for research activities. The resulting application shows a string quartet with accurate acoustics in three different halls of the Konzerthaus Berlin. Users can easily switch between the halls to compare visual and acoustical characteristics of the halls.
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