UCL - The Bartlett School of Architcture
MA Architecture and Historic Urban Environments
BARC0187
3D Scanning for Urban Environments
Canditate Number: ZKHX4
Introduction
Stage I
Genoa
Turin
Florence
Rome
Stage II
Extracted Chunks
The Process of Re-composition
Final Output of Re-composition
Stage III
The Monochrome Column
The Colored Colomn
Pictures
Conclusion
There is no right or wrong way of experiencing the world. Each of us perceives our surrounding differently, based on our culture and social background as well as our personal interests and approach. This project illustrates the lens through which I see the world, not necessarily as an artist or a designer but as an explorer trying to retell forgotten stories
Fascinated by sculptures, their forms, details, the story they carry, their materials, and the changes they have been through, I decided to conduct this experimental project to document, re-compose and recreate sculptures in a form of an architectural element. The project itself carries the story of my recent trip to Italy, where there is always a story to tell in the form of an artifact. The final output is not supposed to be a work of art, but a physically interpreted model holding the memory of this experiment.
In this regard the project has been divided into three main stages:
Documentation: Using 3D Scanning techniques to document and digitalize the sculptures located within the urban contexts in different Italian cities as 3D objects.
Re-composition: Using 3D Scanning data handling tools to deconstruct the 3D objects and re-compose them as a collage in a form of a single column.
Re-creation: Using 3D printing technologies to re-create the physical form of the interpreted model.
Techniques and Softwares: Photogrammetry, Agisoft
The first stage of my work includes scanning sculptures using photogrammetry method and processing the data in Agisoft to create a series of 3D objects. Therefore, during my travel to different cities in Italy, I tried to capture and document sculptures of various size, material, age and physical appearance to represent the culture of the city.
During this process, I had some challenges capturing the sculpture as they were all kept in outdoor spaces. Sometimes there were challenges regarding accessibility, sometimes the weather condition, light reflection and other natural variants. There were also issues with respect to initial data handling in Agisoft , sometimes the overlap between images was not enough, sometimes the number of images was insufficient and as a result, the final model was fragmented. Regardless, the process of scanning as well as abovementioned challenges has been recorded in this document to accompany the final output of this stage. The images are categorized based on the cities they were located in the order of documentation, showing the 3D model exports as well as the raw images used for photogrammetry .
My trip started in Genoa; a port city in northwest Italy. Sculptures could be found in a lot of places, in main squares celebrating warriors, on small fountains in random alleys, and mostly as building ornaments and niches. The problem was that these small ornaments and niches were usually not accessible and above the camera’s height. There was also the issue of very narrow alleys, which made it difficult in to walk around the object to fully document it.
Therefore, there are not as many scans from Genoa as there are from other cities. I managed to scan four pieces overall, two of which were disrupted in the data handling process as a result of light reflections from the surface of the material.
The Barchile (1697) . Location: Piazza Delle Erbe, Genoa . Date: 26 Mar 2023 . Time: 14:54
A column (unknown) . Location: Palazzo Carrega Cataldi, Genoa . Date: 4 Apr 2023 . Time: 20:46
My second destination was Turin, an important city in northern Italy. During my day trip to Turin, I saw a lot of sculptures around the city; especially in the parks and green spaces. Those sculptures were fairly modest; humbly surrounded by vegetation, slowly fading away in the background. The signs of deterioration were evident in their form as if they were left to be forgotten, untitled, and with no visitors.
Fortunately, there was no major issue documenting the sculptures. The problem was the identification of the pieces, that in many cases remained unknown due to insufficient data. For example, there were many valuable sculptures in Giardini Reali (Royal Gardens), mostly untitled and in poor condition.
(unknown) . Location: Giardini Reali (Royal Gardens), Turin . Date: 28 Mar 2023 . Time: 10:46
Stones (2017) . Location: Giardini Reali (Royal Gardens), Turin . Date: 28 Mar 2023 . Time: 10:50
Untitled (unknown) . Location: Giardini Reali (Royal Gardens), Turin . Date: 28 Mar 2023 . Time: 11:18
(unknown) . Location: Giardini Reali (Royal Gardens), Turin . Date: 28 Mar 2023 . Time: 11:29
(unknown) . Location: Giardini Reali (Royal Gardens), Turin . Date: 28 Mar 2023 . Time: 11:31
door handle (unknown) . Location: Via Maria Vittoria, Turin . Date: 28 Mar 2023 . Time: 17:56
Untitled (unknown) . Location: Giardino Sambuy, Piazza Carlo Felice, Turin . Date: 28 Mar 2023 . Time: 19:23
My next trip was to Florence, the capital city of the Tuscany region in Central Italy. This city seems to be a heaven for sculptures. Unlike what I experienced in Turin, original and copies of great sculptures throughout the history were carefully maintained for visitors’ display. Although, this well-preservation made the process of scanning exceptionally challenging for me. There were a lot to document, but not enough space to move around the objects in the space they were positioned that was occupied by many visitors.
Thus, although I tried to scan ten pieces in Florence, only six of them were useful in the end of data handling process. Most of the scans were fragmentary as a result of inadequate captures.
Patroclus and Menelaus (240-230 B.C.) . Location: Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza della Signoria, Florence . Date: 30 Mar 2023 . Time: 16:45
(Early 2nd) . Location: Loggia dei
della Signoria, Florence . Date: 30 Mar 2023 . Time: 16:48
Engraving on the Perseus with the Head of Medusa plinth (unknown) . Location: Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza della Signoria, Florence . Date: 30 Mar 2023 . Time: 16:52
Part of the Perseus with the Head of Medusa plinth (1554) . Location: Loggia dei Lanzi, Piazza della Signoria, Florence . Date: 30 Mar 2023 . Time: 16:53
(1996) . Location: Via de’ Bardi, Florence . Date: 30 Mar 2023 . Time: 18:46
Rome was my final destination, the capital city of Italy. The whole city was a museum, an exhibition of sculptures in different piazzas, random alleys, over the bridges, and famous buildings. Some of them were well-known and some contained great stories about their discovery and restoration. Although, unfortunately, the issue of accessibility was a challenge here as well. Besides the significant number of visitors, some sculptures were positioned in a way that made it impossible to thoroughly capture their different sides.
A lot of scans were consequently, unusable. From the eighteen scans that I managed to complete in Rome, only half of them were acceptable to be used in later stages. Some of the scans in the following pages may seem fragmented as well, but there are still parts that can be used in the final product.
(unknown) . Location: Trevi, Rome . Date: 2 Apr 2023 . Time: 17:05
. Location: Pantheon, Rome . Date: 2 Apr 2023 . Time: 17:55
(1672) . Location: St. Angelo Bridge, Rome . Date: 3 Apr 2023 . Time: 11:17
Plaque names soldiers fallen (1918) . Location: Via San Pio, Rome . Date: 3 Apr 2023 . Time: 13:55
Untitled (unknown) . Location: Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II bridge, Rome . Date: 3 Apr 2023 . Time: 14:00
Pasquino (Early 16th) . Location: Piazza Pasquino, Rome . Date: 3 Apr 2023 . Time: 14:40
del Nettuno (1878) . Location: Piazza Navona, Rome . Date: 3 Apr 2023 . Time: 14:52
Abbott Luigi (14th-15th) . Location: Piazza Vidoni, Rome . Date: 3 Apr 2023 . Time: 15:29
Fountain of the Tritons (1715) . Location: Piazza Bocca della Verita, Rome . Date: 3 Apr 2023 . Time: 16:40
A column (15th) . Location: Palazzo Istoriato, Rome . Date: 3 Apr 2023 . Time: 15:07
Techniques and Softwares: Agisoft, Rhino 7
During the second stage of the project, I extracted different fragments from each 3D object to provide sufficient material for the final collage. To do so, I edited the 3D mesh models in Agisoft , based on the model’s accuracy and levels of detail in the extracted bits. Sometimes it was just a head, sometimes it was a headless body, legs, or even textiles of statues’ clothing.
After extracting fragments from different sculptures, I exported the new 3D mesh models to compose the final collage in a form of a column in Rhino . Firstly, I made a base column with regard to the proportion of an actual column I have scanned in Rome. Subsequently, I added layers of extracted chunks to make the final output. Different chunks needed to be overlapping to cover each other’s holes and defects. During the composition process, some bits were scaled, some were attached to each other and some were omitted as they were flawed and disproportionate in accordance with the whole column.
Softwares and Techno;logies: Magics, GRABCad, SLS, Polyjet
In the previous stages of the project, the physical forms of the sculptures have been scanned and digitalized, decomposed, and recomposed in a new form. The final stage of the project includes bringing this recomposed model into a physical form, so the cycle of re-creation would be completed.
Between the two options of CNC and 3D printing, I decided to use the 3D printing method to bring the re-composed model into reality, based on time limitations and material options. To further explore the potential of different materials and technologies, I decided to make two prototypes of the collaged column: a monochrome and a colored version. These two versions are completely similar in terms of size and shape, to highlight the difference that including the color information would make.
The monochrome version was made using SLS , which prints models using opaque white powdered nylon. Prior to the print, the exported mesh model from Rhino needed some refinements to be ready for the print. Hence, the model was refined and rewrapped in Magics by adding thickness and merging different fragments to make a whole.
To add another layer of information showing the colors and textures, Polyjet was used to make the colored version of the column. Using GrabCAD Print to prepare the model prior to the print, the base layer on which different chunks were composed was printed with VeroClear (the clear material) in comparison to VeroVivid (the colored material) to emphasize the collage nature of the column while exploring the machine’s features and various materials composition.
This experimental project was a way of understanding and exploring different techniques, software, technologies, and materials which started from an observation and ended with a physical output. This exploration contained many challenges as mentioned, but it was also a great opportunity for generating new ideas especially based on new technologies and materials’ potential.