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The aim of the research was to analyse the historical legacy/heritage of the city of Gdańsk in order to characterise the narrative tools which can be used to promote the cultural identity of the urban landscape. The main focus was on the city’s defence system – a cultural route that is spatially limited to a relatively small area, but temporally spanning almost a millennium. The fortifications demarcate a spatial boundary, limiting the urban layout, which has remained distinguishable over the centuries, however changing its image. The research activities have been carried out by a multidisciplinary group of scholars participating in the H2020 PROMETHEUS European project aimed at developing innovative methodologies for digitising architecture with the integration of multidisciplinary data and information models, leading to specialised figures capable of operating on heritage built assets. The image of the city and the urban landscape is transforming in an attempt to strengthen its historical identity. In each century, new architectural and formal models are introduced, which become integrated with the structural characteristics of the urban layout, altering the urban space. Today, in the digital age, it is becoming strategic not only to convert architecture and its models, but also to make the urban image more explicit, trying to translate the invariants of the landscape into the 3D digital databases.

This paper analyses data archiving procedures carried out during emergency archaeological excavations. It proposes a model for developing an information system capable of streamlining both the survey practices and the management of the excavation site. The opportunity to digitally acquire what emerged during an archaeological campaign as well as ordering data stemming from the stratigraphic analysis in a single digital database has offered us the possibility to discuss the cataloguing systems used in emergency situations. This drove us to experiment with novel application protocols for digitally recording archaeological evidence. The aim of this research is to reduce the loss of information and create dynamic archives for knowledge. Archaeologists can fill in this digital result with their considerations and hypotheses, as well as creating a study platform directly accessible during the phase of excavation, thus combining 3D digital surveys with archiving systems.

The Complex of the Scaliger Arks comprises several Gothic-style funerary monuments built by the Della Scala family, lords of Verona, to keep the memory of the illustrious dynasty. Among the tombs of the open-air funerary complex, located in the very historic core of the city, the arks of Cangrande I, Mastino II and Cansignorio stand out for their magnificence. Mastino II Della Scala, who ruled from 1329 to 1351, chose the current area as the family’s graveyard and its Ark is arguably the most important of the complex. It constitutes a singularity not only for its remarkable decorative apparatus, but also for its role of powerful communication tool in the urban context.Structural criticalities and material issues prompted the start of a knowledge process that aims at supporting restoration practices on the monument, but goes beyond that by proposing an innovative strategy for its valorisation based on a serious game.The research established a digital documentation protocol for the monument, achieving a high level of completeness without harming its precarious state of conservation. Then, from the results achieved, the activities pursued a virtuous process of dissemination in order to valorise one of the most important witnesses of the history of Verona.DOI: https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.27.2021.17

The use of UAVs is increasingly widespread in activities related to the documentation of Cultural Heritage. In recent years we have seen the fast development of methodologies, calculation platforms, and tools aimed at integrating heterogeneous data, especially from survey campaigns that use drones to reach privileged observation points and ensure full coverage of the investigated object. The definition of increasingly specific and reliable photogrammetric acquisition procedures, also thanks to the widespread use of small drones (micro and mini UAVs), has produced significant experiments and interesting results in the archaeological, architectural, and territorial fields. Universities, research centres, and companies are increasingly involved in activities to optimize the related information acquisition and management processes. The common objective of these researches is to arrive at an effective configuration of integrated, verified, and discretized data, from which to structure valid multiscale and multilevel representation systems. Thus, the different categories of drones, UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems), USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicles), and UUV (Unmanned Underwater Vehicles), today applied for the documentation of heritage, find their specific field of experimentation also in the Design area, integrating systems and measurement tools to contribute to the definition of new and unique databases and systems of representation of the Cultural Heritage.With the editing of this issue, the aim was to promote an interdisciplinary and international discussion on recent experiences on the topic of the use of drones in the field of Surveying and Drawing, providing a moment of reflection between different research realities in the field of architectural and territorial documentation. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.29.2022.ed

This paper focuses on a research project for the acquisition and post-production of digital data to create informative virtual representations and digital twins of different European Cultural Heritage sites. The goal was to establish a reliable database for a multi-scalar web platform, also accessible through extended reality (XR) tools. This initiative aims to support the promotion and management of cultural and historical monuments within the context of European Cultural Routes supported by the Council of Europe. The project involves different case studies spanning European geographic regions, such as the Upper Kama in Russia, the Valencian Routes of Jaime I in Spain, and the Gdańsk fortresses in Poland. The methodology employed in this effort primarily relies on integrated rapid survey techniques. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technologies were used for data collection. These methods contribute to the creation of accurate 3D databases and models that transform the cultural routes into a digital format accessible via an informative platform. The actions presented in this paper are part of the European project “PROMETHEUS”, which is funded by the Horizon 2020 program of the European Union. The project involves collaboration between universities and enterprises, fostering inter-sectoral cooperation. Various techniques such as photographic archives, census analysis, and scan-to-BIM (building information modeling) processes are employed to develop this method further. In fact, the ultimate goal of the project is to establish a framework that can be replicated in other cultural contexts, enhancing the digital documentation and valorization of heritage sites.

In the megalopolis of Shanghai, small historical units, surrounded by skyscrapers and the constant expansion of buildings, remain, and convey the identity of a traditional China. Some of these units have been studied and detected to create means of enhancing the historical landscape. The aim is to collect and catalogue, in a census form, the identity characteristics of these small worlds that tell stories of contamination and constructive events between East and West. Thanks to degrees and research programs between the University of Pavia, students perform data collection and 3D modelling operations on buildings that are still considered to be "of little value" to promote a reflection on the importance of these urban realities. Digital technologies at the service of documentation of the historical architectural heritage become useful tools through which it is possible to accomplish actions of synthesis that are useful for the construction of models. The design of the minor city that has no monuments or emergencies, if conducted with particular attention to the story of the imperfections and unique qualities of each building, it is capable of becoming itself a work of promoting the identity of the place. The history, the events, and the manners of the place are reflected in the signs of a model, which is an expression of a western thought applied however to an oriental reality. The drawings and models of this article express a multiple round-trip value of languages between east and west in the construction of a virtual landscape that crosses borders to become a common mean for the enhancement and protection of the historic city.DOI: https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.25.2020.18

In the procedures regarding built heritage documentation, the process of representing the object in a digital environment is characterized by a high level of complexity. In fact, the need to process heterogeneous information, referring to quantity, quality and format is one of the main emerging issues. Recent technologies of digitization of our built environment offer excellent performances on data reliability and time of acquisition. On the other hand, they bring about new challenges regarding how to define methodologies and strategies to effectively elaborate such information. A possible way to optimize the use of these data is by implementing them into informative systems: these tools have great potential in the creation of multi-layered representations and offer extensive possibilities for interpretations and analyses. This research, carried out by the laboratories DAdaLab and PLAY of the University of Pavia, focuses on the University’s Palazzo Centrale and aims at developing a precise methodological approach: starting from the 3D acquisition, the survey data are discretized – through critical processes of semantic analysis and breakdown – and later implemented into informative databases. Moreover, the architectural characters, construction phases and the strong bond with the urban setting make the case study particularly valuable; therefore, it represents an excellent opportunity to point out the potentials of this approach to the definition of management tools for the conservation of built heritage.

The civil towers in Pavia are a distinctive element of the city’s architectural heritage, dating back to the Medieval Age as a statement of the lordship’s power and wealth. They constitute singularities in the urban landscape, with out-of-scale vertical development, whether in the original morphology or altered by subsequent actions. Furthermore, they are embedded in a dense urban fabric and therefore they are naturally associated with local risks for the safety of the urban setting and of its users. These peculiarities require accurate and complex documentation practices, and they foster monitoring and morpho-material mapping as preliminary actions to their conservation. The knowledge analysis that has been developed on the case study of the Clock Tower aims to systematize a documentation strategy for delivering an accurate and updated conservation status of the wall surfaces. Digital survey outputs are then developed as diagnosis tools to support intervention procedures, by highlighting deformations and deteriorations that could cause structural instability.

El proyecto que aquí se presenta es fruto de la colaboración establecida entre el Laboratorio DAda Lab (Drawing Architecture DocumentAction Laboratory) de la Universidad de Pavía y el Laboratorio SMlab (Survey and Modelling Lab of Architectural Heritage) de la Universidad de Granada, junto al inestimable apoyo recibido por parte del Patronato de la Alhambra y el Generalife. Numerosos profesores e investigadores han participado en este proyecto multidisciplinar que tomando como referente el Palacio del Generalife, se propuso una reflexión teórica y práctica del levantamiento arquitectónico digital, que ha permitido confrontar los distintos formatos de datos tridimensionales en cuanto a su capacidad para ser interpretados en el proceso de conservación y gestión del patrimonio arquitectónico. Las experiencias obtenidas en los diferentes procesos de levantamiento se completaron con un riguroso análisis histórico de la evolución formal y constructiva del Generalife a partir del cual ha sido posible efectuar la valoración crítica posterior.

The will to preserve and enhance cultural heritage imposes reflections on databases as containers of information for the accessibility of dispersed heritage. The aim of the research is to validate methodological approaches in order to create 3D models and information systems. These tools improve accessibility to the artifact, according to different interconnection channels, in order to overcome the physical limit imposed by location. Tangible and intangible heritage take the form of a metadata network throughout a critical analysis and elaboration of data. These files create a complex database containing 3D models rich in information that describe cultural systems. The digital survey is the starting point for the development of languages, signs and symbols. It transfers complex objects into virtual systems, developing a multidimensional dialogue capable of integrating actions and meanings. The interactivity of complex databases facilitates the accessibility and disclosure of data to a wide audience. It requires the establishment of representation systems based on the development of virtual environments.

In recent years, DAda Laboratory of University of Pavia has conducted numerous research activities in Holy Land aimed at defining operational strategies for the testing of documenting systems useful for the development of tools for the management and enhancement of historical heritage. The translation of the urban image into complex drawings is accomplished to replicate the characteristics of the real space, in order to entrust the virtual quality useful for configuring management tools and manipulating information. The synthesis of the data acquired from digital survey procedures, from the integration and post-production of a wide variety of instrumental out-puts, is expressed in models that reproduce morphological complexity and dimensional aspects in the desire to replicate the urban space of Middle Eastern cities, enhanced in their information content on the levels of decomposition and analysis of which the urban context is composed, to encourage the fruition of research results through the drawing-model. In particular, the paper will present the model of a portion of San Giovanni of Acre, relating to the area of Al-Jazzar Mosque, for the analysis of the historical stratification of religious and urban environments; a portion of Jerusalem adjacent to the monumental walls, for which it was built an interactive platform for the fruition in AR of the survey database; and a portion of the historical center of Bethlehem, for which an analysis of the characteristics of the ahwash quarters and buildings is addressed, useful for a semantic decomposition of the urban structure functional to the creation of an intelligent model for the monitoring of structural risk.DOI: https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.21.2018.5

The complex structure of landscape has motivated recent research into representative systems capable of expressing the complex relationships present within an urban place. Updating the ways of its reading, research has attempted to identify more or less complex urban scenarios, profoundly different from each other both from a formal, cultural and perceptive point of view. The contribution presents examples of methods of analysis, digital acquisition and processing of documentation systems of these landscapes, in order to analyse not only formal differences, but also to structure a documentation and representation methodology for problems of management and planning of the city and territory. The virtual space configures itself through a systematic and structured drawing, demonstrating how interactive reality-based digital models can constitute valid systems of representation of the real landscape. The virtual space maintains relationships and exchanges data with its user, simulating reality and becoming a place where project and experimentation are set in a simplified form to explain critical readings useful for identifying key values that will guide the project. 3D models, together with databases, configure landscapes that outline the future of research through the study of systems of interaction between man, drawing and virtual space. In particular, the contribution deals with the three-dimensional representation of the historical center of the city of Pavia and the territorial relationship with its province, analysing documentation systems that, through digital drawing, contribute to the enhancement and awareness of values of urban landscape heritage. 3D models, used as planning tools, become elements of cohesion between space and time, bringing to light the Roman and Longobard city, till its current configuration, laying the foundations for the project of the city of the future. Each formal choice will be oriented on values of conservation, restoration and interpretation of the historical and cultural dimension of the city.

The archaeological survey is carried out by com-bining the study and observation of material rea-lity with the in-depth study of historical sources, thus allowing to “translate” the signs of history into drawings, or rather as complex represen-tations of an embedded system of information. The MRP-Masada Research Project was deve-loped by the Joint Inter-University Laboratory Landscaper,Survey & Design with the aim of ex-perimenting with various digital technologies in order to create a complete digital documenta-tion of the important archaeological site, now protected by UNESCO. The paper describes the case study of the virtual 3D reconstruction of the F2 Roman camp, so-called “Campo del Generale Silva” and the potentialities that 3d models offer in terms of communication and dissemination of the Archaeological Heritage.

With the advent of digital technology, communication has undergone radical transformation processes. The large amount of information that surrounds us with sociological, cultural and economic aspects, have changed the relationship between the perceiver and the context. The perceiver takes part of space, surrounding it, finding new ways to understand it and new ar-chive systems of the information he may acquire. Through digital survey and the use of skilled software, the elements and the relationships of the contemporaneity become networked and accessible to the public. The database in which all the data acquired is collected, permits an extraction of useful information for the orientation in space. This possibility allows the under-standing of the relationship between elements and an ever-growing conscious approach to the project. Through digitization, the virtual environment can be preserved. This paper describes an innovative methodology that links the complexity of the databases (for the management of ur-ban and architectural systems) with representation systems and three-dimensional space archives. Some experimental researches conducted explain ways in which one can create virtual databases. These instruments can become narrative path systems where the user can find and interface with the elements of space, in a more conscious, critical and structured approach.

Through the digital survey and the use of specialized software, the elements and the relations of contemporary are made accessible to an increasingly knowledgeable and demanding public. Digital databases, wherein the acquired information is collected, increasingly require the development of narrative systems for the use of information and the preservation of memory. Some experimental research explain how the “migration” of the reality in virtual environment strongly depends on the structure of a design database that tries to reproduce the real space and the structure of the relations during the visit of the place. In the digital space, the user can interface with the structural elements of the database to develop critical analysis models.

Lo studio intende rispondere alla crescente necessità di organizzare in maniera virtuosa gli apparati informativi relativi al Patrimonio Culturale, attraverso una metodologia che integri processi multidisciplinari di interazione con l’informazione, finalizzati al rilievo, documentazione, gestione, conoscenza e valorizzazione del Bene.È necessario ripercorrere, attualizzandolo, il processo di acquisizione strumentale dell’informazione, di normalizzazione e di strutturazione dei dati acquisti in un modello semantico tridimensionale e la successiva rappresentabilità e la fruibilità del modello e della banca dati associata. Se nel campo della progettazione l’utilizzo del Building Information Modeling ha visto negli ultimi anni un consolidamento nelle procedure e l’individuazione di metodologie standard, nell’ambito dei Beni Culturali, la sfida volta all’individuazione di metodologie operative è ancora aperta.

The paper deals with the documentation of Upper Kama’s traditional architecture in order to develop large-scale renewal plans. The territory represents a border between Eastern and Western Russia and a meeting point for European and Asian culture. The Region preserves several examples of a distinctive provincial architecture, rich in orthodox complexes and neoclassical industrial settlements of the eighteen century. In 1606, Nikita Stroganov founded Usolye, a commercial outpost for the production of salt in the Urals. The project takes its Historic Centre as a case study for the development of a methodological approach. The entire Upper Kama heritage is currently experiencing a period of decay and abandonment, which is leading to the disappearing of several important settlements. The aim of the research is to develop a digital database containing necessary information regarding the state of preservation and providing important instruments for renewal plans and valorization.

The paper is a summary of some studies that have focused on the documentation for the restoration and enhancement of the Fort San Lorenzo el Real del Chagres in Panama. The aim of the project is to develop an experimental methodology for the creation of descriptive atlases with an informative and reliable metric survey systems; a documentary corpus necessary for the understanding of the historical events which have affected this place, today declared UNESCO heritage, and for the definition of guidelines for restoration and enhancement. The monument is unique for both the special relationship with the surrounding context for defensive strategies terms, and for the deep connection with the events that have affected not only the colonization and development of Panama, but the entire Central America. From the first project of a "Castillo" to the creation of present's fortified fortress overlooking the outfall of the Chagres River, the paper is going to explain the major historical events that have influenced the image of the building, illustrating the documentation and the recovery project.

This contribution relates to the experiences of applied research for the construction of three-dimensional models relative to landscape complexes through the use of so-called three-dimensional photogrammetry. Survey expeditions for studying historical architecture are increasingly in demand today and methods for producing metric data able to meet the descriptive requirements of drawings of buildings are constantly evolving. Many programmes have come and gone in recent years in an attempt to generate automatic 3D models to manage the complexity of real space; when the object of the survey is a multi-composition system covering different levels of investigation and scales of representation, the landscape needs to be broken down and recomposed using techniques for the discretization of architectural forms and images.

The research work carried out by the Department of Architecture of Florence and the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture of Pavia for the administration of Montepulciano (SI) was aimed to study new methods of analysis and promotion of the city. The representation of the street fronts of the historic center, realized in a decade of analysis in which it is carried out the study for the planning, has formed a corpus of documents useful for the realization of a three-dimensional model of the city itself. The model, which allows a dynamic interaction with the urban structure, has been designed to develop tools for valuation of the activities and the historical and cultural heritage. It is possible through the determination of a structure of a visual interface and interactive multimedia which would transform the model in a real emotional space.

The Umbrian territory crossed by one track of the ancient Roman Flaminia Way, presents settlements, monuments and art works connected with the old road network. During the centuries, the road track called Martana, which was marked in 223 a.C. by the Consul Flaminio, has coagulate an amount of settlements, like the town of Carsulae (Terni e Acquasparta), Sangemini, the settlement near S. Maria in Pantano (Massamartana), and monuments, like the Massamartana catacombs, rural churches, monasteries and castles. The conservation and the accessibility of all the sites lay down problems not only concerning merely the management of the survey, study and conservation campaign, but also, if the aim is to create a museum network, those related on one side with the improvement of a correct use of the sites, on the other with the realization of an executive program of digital documentation in order to guarantee the dissemination of the data in a Virtual Museum of the heritage itself.

The Structure from motion procedures have, in recent years, refined to the point of an interesting data acquisition system, also in response to needs for reliable documentation of the different architectural contexts. Experiments concerning the development of its integrated survey of alternative methodologies have led to interesting results concerning methodological protocols to check the reliability of these processes of architectural significance through photography, and lay the foundations for further developments relating to connections that certain models can to generate knowledge, documentation and enhancement of historic architecture.

Este trabajo nace como un proyecto de investigación entre la Universidad de Florencia, Departamento de Arquitectura, Diseño, Historia y Proyecto; la Facultad de Construcciones de la Universidad de Oriente y la Oficina del Conservador de la Ciudad de Santiago de Cuba, para poner a prueba los sistemas de documentación pertinentes a la preparación del Plan Maestro. El objetivo de este estudio ha sido identificar los sistemas de análisis y de levantamiento para el desarrollo de herramientas interactivas y la gestión del patrimonio construido. A través de este proyecto los investigadores y estudiantes de la Facultad de Arquitectura de la Universidad de Florencia han podido trabajar en Santiago de Cuba durante tres meses, fijando el análisis en las tres principales plazas del casco histórico: Parque Céspedes, la Plaza Dolores y la Plaza de Marte.AbstractThis work stems from a collaboration agreement between the University of Florence (Department of Architecture, Design, History and Project), the Faculty of Building Construction of the Universidad de Oriente, and the Oficina del Conservador de la Ciudad de Santiago de Cuba in order to test documentation systems for the City’s Master Plan. The objective of this study has been to identify systems analysis and architectural survey, aimed at developing interactive tools for managing the built heritage. This surveying experience has involved researchers and students of the Faculty of Architecture University of Florence in Santiago de Cuba for a period of three months, focusing the analysis on the three main squares of the historical center: Parque Cespedes, Plaza Dolores, and Plaza de Marte.

Il progetto di documentazione per la rappresentazione digitale di Villa Adriana rappresenta un programma pluriennale di indagine promosso dal Laboratorio Congiunto Università e Impresa Inter Ateneo “Landscape Survey & Design” con l’obiettivo di fornire alla Soprintendenza una banca dati tridimensionale degli ambienti della Villa, capace di descrivere lo stato dei luoghi sia relativamente alle condizioni delle murature che delle relazioni tra architettura e paesaggio. Villa Adriana rappresenta la più alta espressione di architettura imperiale coniugando spazi legati sia ad esigenze politiche che ad attività ricreative e di piacere in un complesso dall’articolazione urbana immerso nell’armonia di un paesaggio dove la natura permea le strutture con vasche, giochi d’acqua e coni visivi che si aprono fin verso Roma. Le attività di documentazione e rilievo delle rovine, organizzate in campagne di documentazione, hanno prodotto ad oggi un database parziale della Villa costituito da nuvole di punti ad alta densità dalle quali vengono elaborati modelli 3D sui quali poter studiare i sistemi morfologici, i dettagli costruttivi e parietali per individuare le relazioni architettoniche tra gli elementi e i sistemi paesaggistici, dalla grande scala al singolo dettaglio murario. Villa Adriana costituisce uno dei più complessi siti archeologici italiani, questa ricerca intende sviluppare un apparato documentario in grado di descrivere lo stato dei luoghi esplicitando tecniche e sistemi costruttivi per semplificare letture tematiche in grado di promuovere la conoscenza sul patrimonio. Parallelamente la ricerca sviluppa una riflessione sulla qualità dei modelli e dei disegni per la descrizione delle rovine nel loro stato attuale e tramite procedure di ricostruzione virtuale.