Architectural Information Modelling for Virtual Heritage Application

In today’s AEC industry (Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry), there has been a vast evolution in the usage of information and communication technology (ICT) for describing and managing construction projects. During the past years this led to the elaboration of the technique Building Information Modelling or BIM for describing buildings and building information according to their different composing elements. One of the major advantages in this BIM approach is the possibility to use this building information for calculation, simulation and analysis in related, more dedicated ICT applications. Starting from the building information model, these applications are accessible through an interoperability language, namely the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), elaborated by the International Alliance for Interoperability or IAI. This paper proposes the development of an approach similar to BIM, namely Architectural Information Modelling (AIM), which describes more theoretical and historical building knowledge instead of the explicit and component-based descriptions inside BIM. It illustrates several possible advantages of this AIM approach for application in building documentation for virtual heritage, combined with possible historical analysis tools. It also makes a short comparison of this technique with procedural methods, a similar technique that is gaining much interest during the past few years in the domain of virtual heritage. Finally, this paper proposes future research ambitions and some conclusions of this first, conceptual research about an architectural information modelling approach

A Procedural Approach to Creating American Second Empire Houses

In this work, we present a procedural approach to capture a variety of appearances of American Second Empire houses, which are well known for their mansard roofs and their inspired ornamentation. To develop this procedural approach, we have identified the set of rules and similarities of Second Empire houses. Our procedural approach, therefore, captures the style differences of Second Empire houses with a relatively few number of parameters. Using our interface, we are able to generate virtual houses in a wide variety of styles of American Second Empire architecture. We have also developed a method to break up these virtual models into slices in order to efficiently and economically 3D print them. Using this method, we have printed miniatures of two landmark buildings in Savannah, GA and Baltimore, MD: The Hamilton-Turner Inn and Enoch Pratt House. We observe that the virtual models still provide more details because of the limited resolution of the 3D printing process

A Procedural Approach to Creating American Second Empire Houses

In this work, we present a procedural approach to capture a variety of appearances of American Second Empire houses, which are well known for their mansard roofs and their inspired ornamentation. To develop this procedural approach, we have identified the set of rules and similarities of Second Empire houses. Our procedural approach, therefore, captures the style differences of Second Empire houses with a relatively few number of parameters. Using our interface, we are able to generate virtual houses in a wide variety of styles of American Second Empire architecture. We have also developed a method to break up these virtual models into slices in order to efficiently and economically 3D print them. Using this method, we have printed miniatures of two landmark buildings in Savannah, GA and Baltimore, MD: The Hamilton-Turner Inn and Enoch Pratt House. We observe that the virtual models still provide more details because of the limited resolution of the 3D printing process

A Procedural Approach to Creating American Second Empire Houses

In this work, we present a procedural approach to capture a variety of appearances of American Second Empire houses, which are well known for their mansard roofs and their inspired ornamentation. To develop this procedural approach, we have identified the set of rules and similarities of Second Empire houses. Our procedural approach, therefore, captures the style differences of Second Empire houses with a relatively few number of parameters. Using our interface, we are able to generate virtual houses in a wide variety of styles of American Second Empire architecture. We have also developed a method to break up these virtual models into slices in order to efficiently and economically 3D print them. Using this method, we have printed miniatures of two landmark buildings in Savannah, GA and Baltimore, MD: The Hamilton-Turner Inn and Enoch Pratt House. We observe that the virtual models still provide more details because of the limited resolution of the 3D printing process

Shape Grammars for Architectural Heritage

Shape grammars have been introduced in architectural theory some decades ago. They have been applied to architectural construction methods (e.g. Chinese traditional wooden buildings) or for analyzing the design patterns of well-known architects (e.g. Palladio, Frank Lloyd-Wright).These examples demonstrated that complex geometrical shapes could be generated by a set of replacement rules out of a start symbol, usually a simple geometric shape. With the advent of powerful tools like the CityEngine an interesting field for practical applications of these grammars arose opening a whole range of new possibilities for architectural heritage.On the one hand, a description of ancient building principles in the formalized way of a shape grammar can aid the understanding and preservation of cultural heritage. With the possibility to actually construct digital 3D models out of shape grammars, they became even more interesting. Furthermore, this approach allows for a large scale creation of 3D models of entire settlements and cities.On the other hand, shape grammars allow for structured approaches to virtual 3D reconstruction as has been demonstrated for e.g. Mayan or Roman architecture. Besides that, the possibility to specify parameterized variations of the models proves to be an extremely helpful feature.In this paper we reconsider shape grammars in architecture and examine influences onto procedural modelling. Then we argue for state-of-the-art tools like the CityEngine that apply shape grammars and procedural modelling in architectural contexts and exemplify their power and potential by reconstructing traditional Balinese settlements

Una perspectiva sobre el modelado procedural basado en análisis estructurales

[EN] With the rise of available computing capabilities, structural analysis has recently become a key tool for building assessment usually managed by art historians, curators, and other specialist related to the study and preservation of ancient buildings. On the other hand, the flourishing field of procedural modeling has provided some exciting breakthroughs for the recreation of lost buildings and urban structures. However, there is a surprising lack of literature to enable the production of procedural-based buildings taking into account structural analysis, which has proven to be a crucial element for the recreation of faithful masonry structures. In order to perform an in-depth study of the advances in this type of analysis for cultural heritage buildings, we performed a study focused on procedural modeling that make use of structural analysis methods, especially in its application to historic masonry buildings such as churches and cathedrals. Moreover, with the aim of improving the knowledge about structural analysis of procedurally-recreated historical buildings, we have taken a geometric structure, added a set of procedural walls structured in masonry bricks, and studied its behavior in a generic, freely-available simulation tool, thus showing the feasibility of its analysis with non-specialized tools. This not only has allowed us to understand and learn how the different parameter values of a masonry structure can affect the results of the simulation, but also has proven that this kind of simulations can be easily integrated in an off-the-shelf procedural modeling tool, enabling this kind of analysis for a wide variety of historical studies, or restoration and preservation actions.[ES] Con el creciente aumento de las capacidades computacionales, el análisis estructural se ha convertido en una herramienta clave para la evaluación del estudio y conservación de edificios antiguos por parte de los historiadores del arte, curadores y otros especialistas. Por otro lado, el floreciente campo del modelado procedural ha proporcionado avances interesantes para la reconstrucción de edificios y estructuras urbanas no accesibles. Sin embargo, hay una sorprendente falta de métodos que permiten la generación deedificios procedurales, teniendo en cuenta el análisis estructural, los cuales handemostrado ser un elemento crucial para la concepciónde estructuras de mampostería. Con el fin de realizar un estudio en profundidad de los avances en este tipo de análisis para edificios del patrimonio cultural, se realizó un estudio centrado en elroldelmodelado proceduralque realizanmétodos de análisis estructural, especialmente en su aplicación a los edificios históricos de albañilería, tales como iglesias y catedrales. Por otra parte, con el objetivo de mejorar el conocimiento sobre el análisis estructural de los edificios históricos concebidosproceduralmente, hemos tomado una estructura geométrica de un atrículo, añadidoun conjunto de paredesproceduralesestructuradasen ladrillos, y estudiado su comportamiento conuna herramienta de simulación de pública disponibilidad.Con esto sedemuestra la viabilidad de su análisis con herramientas no especializadas. Esto no sólo nos ha permitido entender y aprender cómo los diferentes valores de los parámetros de una estructura de mampostería pueden afectar los resultados de la simulación, sino tambiénque este tipo de simulaciones se puede integrar fácilmente en una herramienta de modelado proceduralal alcance de todo público, lo que permite acercar este tipo de análisis a una amplia variedad de estudios históricos o acciones de restauración y conservación.This work was partially funded by the TIN2014-52211-C2-2-R project from Ministerio de Economia y Competividad, Spain.Fita, JL.; Besuievsky, G.; Patow, G. (2017). A perspective on procedural modeling based on structural analysis. Virtual Archaeology Review. 8(16):44-50. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2017.5765SWORD445081

A Procedural Approach to Computer-Aided Modeling in Nautical Archaeology

This research is to determine the functionality and applicability of procedural computer-based modeling techniques in the field of nautical archaeology. To demonstrate this approach, an interactive procedural model of the lower hull timbers of a 16th century European merchant ship was developed through an iterative process of prototype implementation. Evaluation of the usefulness and effectiveness of the prototypes based on their potential research applications was conducted by Dr. Filipe Castro of the Texas A&M Department of Anthropology. The 3D model was created using Houdini, a procedural node-based 3D software package. First, a basic collection of main timber components that go into the construction of a ship’s hull was determined. Functional rules were created for each timber based on real-world ship design and construction processes. These rules were incorporated into the logic of the procedural modeling algorithm. I built into this model the ability of varying specific dimensions of each component, while adhering to the rules of the algorithm. Each component was updated, in real-time, as revisions were made to interdependent components. The resulting procedural approach created a flexible and interactive model which can be iterated with parametric control, thus reducing revision time. The results of this project provide evidence of the time-saving effectiveness of a procedural approach to creating 3D models as a research tool. This is useful because once procedural models are created, they provide an accessible means for researchers to create multiple interpretations. Based on my experience with this project, I believe that the flexibility provided by procedural modeling provides an overall time efficient solution for 3D modeling in nautical archaeology. The construction of a procedural model requires a significant investment in design, construction, and trouble-shooting; however, this is out-weighed by the flexibility it offers

Reconstrução virtual expedita de sítios de herança cultural

Tendo em conta que as estruturas em ruínas que fazem parte do nosso património arqueológico, assim como os artefactos de épocas passadas estão repletos de detalhe e relevância para o estudo deste nosso legado cultural, seria desejável a existência de um processo de reconstrução automático que possibilitasse a criação de réplicas virtuais exatas e precisas, que poderiam ser exploradas livremente sem comprometer a fragilidade inerente, principalmente dos artefactos, do nosso passado histórico. Ambientes tridimensionais são normalmente a primeira opção para representar tais estruturas e artefactos. No entanto, os custos para produzir os mesmos são desencorajadores, devido ao custo significativo das ferramentas de modelação tridimensional que são normalmente utilizadas, assim como o tempo necessário para produzir estes modelos manualmente. Este projeto apresenta uma alternativa de baixo custo para o processo clássico de modelação manual e produção de modelos com elevado detalhe utilizando unicamente software de código aberto e uma câmara com um sensor de profundidade móvel de baixo custo. Com este processo, é nossa intenção potenciar a disseminação do nosso património cultural, tornando-o acessível, não só a especialistas, mas igualmente ao público em geral, sem necessidade de possuir qualquer equipamento de alto desempenho, software de modelação de elevado custo ou capacidades profissionais no processo de modelação tridimensional. Para este efeito surgiu a participação no projeto FCT ERAS - Reconstrução Virtual Expedita de Sítios de Herança Cultural, estruturado em diferentes módulos, como sejam a extração de informação, integração com modelo de dados, testes às ontologias (ontologia genérica e especialização romana) e geração procedimental de arquiteturas e artefactos históricos. Esta dissertação tem o seu foco principal na realização dos testes às ontologias, aquisição tridimensional de artefactos para complementar os modelos finais e no estabelecimento de ligações para operacionalizar o funcionamento entre módulos. Os modelos virtuais desenvolvidos são disponibilizados através de um visualizador interativo embebido num browser, utilizando as mais recentes tecnologias, como HTML5 e WebGL. Este pode ser acedido através de uma ampla variedade de dispositivos móveis proeminentes, assim como qualquer computador pessoal, contribuindo deste modo para uma verdadeira 7 democratização do conhecimento da história. Apesar de existirem alternativas de reconstrução procedimental, estas têm alguma falta de realismo comparativamente à modelação manual, daí se ter optado por uma abordagem híbrida, manual e procedimental. Nesta abordagem alguns dos edifícios são modelados manualmente e as metodologias procedimentais são utilizadas de modo a complementar estes modelos. A abordagem proposta foi aplicada para criar um modelo virtual de um complexo de lojas do período Romano existente nas ruínas de Conimbriga, identificado como "Casa do Medianum Absidado" assim como a uma residência típica do séc. III denominada “Casa de Cantaber”

A Procedural Approach to Computer-Aided Modeling in Nautical Archaeology

This research is to determine the functionality and applicability of procedural computer-based modeling techniques in the field of nautical archaeology. To demonstrate this approach, an interactive procedural model of the lower hull timbers of a 16th century European merchant ship was developed through an iterative process of prototype implementation. Evaluation of the usefulness and effectiveness of the prototypes based on their potential research applications was conducted by Dr. Filipe Castro of the Texas A&M Department of Anthropology. The 3D model was created using Houdini, a procedural node-based 3D software package. First, a basic collection of main timber components that go into the construction of a ship’s hull was determined. Functional rules were created for each timber based on real-world ship design and construction processes. These rules were incorporated into the logic of the procedural modeling algorithm. I built into this model the ability of varying specific dimensions of each component, while adhering to the rules of the algorithm. Each component was updated, in real-time, as revisions were made to interdependent components. The resulting procedural approach created a flexible and interactive model which can be iterated with parametric control, thus reducing revision time. The results of this project provide evidence of the time-saving effectiveness of a procedural approach to creating 3D models as a research tool. This is useful because once procedural models are created, they provide an accessible means for researchers to create multiple interpretations. Based on my experience with this project, I believe that the flexibility provided by procedural modeling provides an overall time efficient solution for 3D modeling in nautical archaeology. The construction of a procedural model requires a significant investment in design, construction, and trouble-shooting; however, this is out-weighed by the flexibility it offers