Architectural Holograms
Archival and documentary surveys were carried out for the digital reconstruction of the selected monuments (churches of St. John of the Lepers and St. John of the Hermits; Cuba, Zisa and Maredolce Mansions; the Admiral’s Bridge; Fondo Micciulla Qanāt aqueduct) and to support and corroborate the stylistic interpretative choices, as in the case of the Admiral’s Bridge, Cuba and Zisa Mansions for which perspective illustrations by travellers of the time, historical iconographies, documents and archive photos have been used.
Specifically, for the Admiral Bridge, the process from the laser-scanner survey to the Virtual Architectural Reconstruction is here showed in the form of a hologram.
The 3D model of these buildings was created using a point cloud obtained from a laser scanner survey. The used device was a phase shift laser scanner, which provided 26 outdoor scans all around the building, across the garden, along the street and on the upper walkways.
The resulting point cloud was initially made by more than 603 million points which had excessive resolution (resolution of about 3mm). Therefore, the dataset was stripped down of inconsistent and redundant information, subsampled to force a 10 mm minimum point-to-point,and reduced to 82 million points.
The 3D model of the church of St. John of The Lepers was obtained by a photogrammetric process. An image acquisition through an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) was performed using a mini drone. Several flights were executed, both in nadiral and frontal-view configurations on the roof and the façades of the building.
Data processing was carried out using a software application following the typical photogrammetric workflow based on image orientation, and dense point cloud generation. The dense point cloud was generated in a high-quality setting, filtering and cleaning the noise and inconsistent information. Once the point cloud was finalised, the highly detailed textured mesh model of the church was reconstructed by the software, leading to a reality-based 3D model.
The survey of this monument was performed with the latest generation non-intrusive technologies, specifically by way of laser-scanner. As result of this survey, the captured data were processed to extract horizontal and vertical sections, useful for graphic restitution of 2d Drawings. The graphical representations were based on a 1:100-scale architectural survey, by setting up the processing of two-dimensional graphics, such as plans, sections, and elevations.
The survey of this monument was performed with the latest generation non-intrusive technologies, specifically by way of laser-scanner. As result of this survey, the captured data were processed to extract horizontal and vertical sections, useful for graphic restitution of 2d Drawings. The graphical representations were based on a 1:100-scale architectural survey, by setting up the processing of two-dimensional graphics, such as plans, sections, and elevations.
The 3D model of the Maredolce Mansioned was obtained by a way of a laser scanner survey generating a 3D point cloud. The survey was carried out using a laser scanner equipped with a system for real-time device tracking of the and by aligning of the single scans. In order to maximize the level of detail. Overall, more than seventy scans were needed to complete the survey. Additionally, the upper parts of the roofs were surveyed. The final 3D model was thus created with about 72 million 3D points describing the geometry of the Mansion with a very high level of detail.
The survey of this monument was performed with non-invasive latest generation technologies, specifically a laser-scanner survey was undertaken. As result of this survey, the captured data were processed to extract horizontal and vertical sections, useful to graphic restitution of 2d Drawings. The graphical representations were based on the architectural survey in scale 1:100, by setting up the elaborations of two-dimensional graphics, such as plans, sections, and elevations.
Built in Palermo area (the so called “Piana dei Colli”) by Arabs from 827 to 1072 (when Normans conquered Sicily), qanāts represent a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct. They represent an ancient system of water supply which allows water to be transported over long distances in hot dry climates without loss of much of the water to evaporation.
The investigation conducted on Fondo Micciulla Qanāt, due to the characteristics of the underground architectural structure, required a different investigative integrated approach, the laser system employed considered which considered the intrinsic challenges to carried out the 3D survey with wearable mobile laser systems. 3D reality-based surveying instruments and techniques offers new and effective solutions for the 3D modeling of hypogeal environments.
The 3D model of the crypt was created using a point cloud obtained from a laser scanner survey. The device was a phase shift laser scanner, which provided 33 scans performed along the main aisle, across the four symmetrical rooms at both ends of the hallway and around the sarcophaguses, on the 7 apses at the back of the tombs, and on the narrow entrance passages.
The scans from the laser scanner survey have been aligned and registered into a unique reference system. The resulting point cloud was initially made by more than 101 million points (resolution of about 2mm). In order to see the interior parts of the crypt, it was necessary to cut off the upper part of the point cloud.
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Project designers
- VR room concept: Rossella Corrao, Calogero Vinci
- Virtual Architectural Reconstructions: Team UNIPA (Francesco Di Paola, Vincenza Garofalo, Mauro Lo Brutto), Yuri Alogna, Marco Geraci
- Graphic designers: Adriana Lo Curto, Erica La Placa, Kevin Aaron Castro Morales
- Translations: Alessandro Russell
Project developers
- Research Agreement-Technological developer of VR Room: Visivalab s.l.
- Research Agreement – 360° pictures for VR Room: Francesco Ferla
Disclaimer
This product has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union under the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme. The contents of this product are the sole responsibility of the Department of Architecture of the University of Palermo and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union or the Programme management structures
Statement about the Programme
The 2014-2020 ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme is a multilateral Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) initiative funded by the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI). The Programme objective is to foster fair, equitable and sustainable economic, social and territorial development, which may advance cross-border integration and valorise participating countries’ territories and values. The following 13 countries participate in the Programme: Cyprus, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, and Tunisia. The Managing Authority (MA) is the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (Italy). Official Programme languages are Arabic, English and French. For more information, please visit: www.enicbcmed.eu
Acknowledgements
- Archdiocese of Palermo
- Archdiocese of Monreale
- Fund for Religious Buildings (F.E.C.) – Italian Ministry of the Interior
- Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments for Palermo
- Regione Sicilia – Soprintendenza Beni Culturali e Ambientali di Palermo
- Speleological Group of the Italian Alpine Club of Palermo (C.A.I.)
