Digital Segusio: from models generation to urban reconstruction

[EN] The reconstructive study of the urban arrangement of Susa in the 4th century arose from the intention to exploit some resources derived from local studies, and survey activities, fulfilled by innovative methods from which the modelling of architectural heritage (AH) and virtual reconstructions are derived. The digital Segusio presented in this paper is the result of intensive discussion and exchange of data and information during the urban landscape documentation activities, and due to the technology of virtual model generation, making it possible to recreate the charm of an ancient landscape. The land survey has been accomplished using aerial and terrestrial acquisition systems, mainly through digital photogrammetry from UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and terrestrial laser scanning. Results obtained from both the methods have been integrated into the medium scale geographical data from the regional map repository, and some processing and visualization supported by GIS (Geographical Information System) has been achieved. Subsequently, with the help of accurate and detailed DEM (Digital Elevation Model) and other architectural scale models related to the ancient heritage, this ancient landscape was modelled. The integration of the history of this city with digital and multimedia resources will be offered to the public in the city museum housed in the restored castle of Maria Adelaide (Savoy dynasty, 11th century), which stands in the place where the acropolis of the city of Susa lay in ancient times.A special acknowledgment goes to the Foundation Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, who made the realization of this work possible (through a loan granted under the "Exponent Project 2015"). The city of Susa and the architect Maria Pia Dal Bianco (castle restoration and setting up of the Civic Museum designer), who participated actively in the initiative's success. The DIRECT team (working in the field of advanced technologies, 3D Metric survey, for the on going education of students from the areas of Architecture and Engineering in relation to the promotion and protection of the territory and built heritage) participated in the survey campaign and data processing in 2013, and above all Elisabetta Donadio. We would also like to thank Dr. Enrico Maggi –PhD in Arch.– who has deepened the study and the graphic representation of the walls of Segusio.Spanò, A.; Chiabrando, F.; Dezzani, L.; Prencipe, A. (2016). Digital Segusio: from models generation to urban reconstruction. Virtual Archaeology Review. 7(15):87-97. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2016.5874SWORD879771

Guardare, osservare, vedere. Workshop a Serralunga d'Alba: una nuova terrazza per guardare le Langhe

L'articolo recensisce il workshop di progettazione svolto a Serralunga d'Alba con 15 studenti dei corsi di laurea e laurea magistrale in Architettura, per ridisegnare una piazza urbana/belveder

The ways to Superga. History and Design Studio projects for year 2012-2013

The e-book, specifically imaginated for foreign students, presents a selection of essays by the "History and Design Studio" teachers and collaborators to underline methodologically the relevance of the historical approach to the design. The specificity of the imposant baroque architecture of Superga Church, at the top of Torino Hills (the so called "Montagne de Turin" by ancient cartography) is related to the contest and to the city. Design proposals and solutions, equally are strongly connected to the landscape analysis. The book then proposes the students answer to these complex topics by a series of "atlas" interpretations and design suggestions. The deep analysis on cultural components, architectural monuments and urban organization is surely the main force of these projects in which the few projected solutions are able to dialogue truly with the contest. The presentations by the Course director and by the resposable of the lanscape administration (Parco del Po e della collina torinese) show the importante of the cooperation between associations and university to propose solutions able to dialogue with the complexity of nowadays cultural contest. With contributions by Fulvio Capurso, Maria Vittoria Cattaneo, Vittorio Defabiani, Luca Malvicino, Rachele Vicario and presentations by the Director of Studies and Superga Park responsible and collaborato

The ways to Superga. History and Design Studio projects for year 2012-2013

The e-book, specifically imaginated for foreign students, presents a selection of essays by the "History and Design Studio" teachers and collaborators to underline methodologically the relevance of the historical approach to the design. The specificity of the imposant baroque architecture of Superga Church, at the top of Torino Hills (the so called "Montagne de Turin" by ancient cartography) is related to the contest and to the city. Design proposals and solutions, equally are strongly connected to the landscape analysis. The book then proposes the students answer to these complex topics by a series of "atlas" interpretations and design suggestions. The deep analysis on cultural components, architectural monuments and urban organization is surely the main force of these projects in which the few projected solutions are able to dialogue truly with the contest. The presentations by the Course director and by the resposable of the lanscape administration (Parco del Po e della collina torinese) show the importante of the cooperation between associations and university to propose solutions able to dialogue with the complexity of nowadays cultural contest. With contributions by Fulvio Capurso, Maria Vittoria Cattaneo, Vittorio Defabiani, Luca Malvicino, Rachele Vicario and presentations by the Director of Studies and Superga Park responsible and collaborator

Inferring neural circuit structure from datasets of heterogeneous tuning curves.

Tuning curves characterizing the response selectivities of biological neurons can exhibit large degrees of irregularity and diversity across neurons. Theoretical network models that feature heterogeneous cell populations or partially random connectivity also give rise to diverse tuning curves. Empirical tuning curve distributions can thus be utilized to make model-based inferences about the statistics of single-cell parameters and network connectivity. However, a general framework for such an inference or fitting procedure is lacking. We address this problem by proposing to view mechanistic network models as implicit generative models whose parameters can be optimized to fit the distribution of experimentally measured tuning curves. A major obstacle for fitting such models is that their likelihood function is not explicitly available or is highly intractable. Recent advances in machine learning provide ways for fitting implicit generative models without the need to evaluate the likelihood and its gradient. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) provide one such framework which has been successful in traditional machine learning tasks. We apply this approach in two separate experiments, showing how GANs can be used to fit commonly used mechanistic circuit models in theoretical neuroscience to datasets of tuning curves. This fitting procedure avoids the computationally expensive step of inferring latent variables, such as the biophysical parameters of, or synaptic connections between, particular recorded cells. Instead, it directly learns generalizable model parameters characterizing the network's statistical structure such as the statistics of strength and spatial range of connections between different cell types. Another strength of this approach is that it fits the joint high-dimensional distribution of tuning curves, instead of matching a few summary statistics picked a priori by the user, resulting in a more accurate inference of circuit properties. More generally, this framework opens the door to direct model-based inference of circuit structure from data beyond single-cell tuning curves, such as simultaneous population recordings

Multimedia digital solutions from image and range based models for ancient landscapes communication

The paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary project which aimed at the dissemination of some archaeological remains producing multimedia contents from multisensor surveyed 3D data. The scope of this application pertained to the use of 3D detailed models as a base for some video-installations with the aim to arouse the visitors’ emotions and improve their museum experience. This work has been applied to the Arch of Augustus located in the archaeological site of Susa and to two ancient Roman marble statues, found in the city of Susa in 1802 and now displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Turin. The Arch of Augustus is in a remarkable state of conservation. Its decorated frieze tells about the peace between the Romans and the Celts but it is difficult to see for visitors at the ground level. A multisensor 3D survey, by means of laser scanning technique and photogrammetric method, made it possible to process a detailed 3D textured model, which provided the base for the creation of a life-size model to be placed in the Museum of Susa on which a designed didactic video map is projected, which explains the meaning of the frieze. The two statues, known as ‘busti loricati di Susa’ and representing two Roman emperors, were surveyed with a photogrammetric method with the aim of processing two 3D models representing the statues before the 19th century restoration, on the basis of archival sources. These models provided the base for a video installation for the museum which simulates a holographic projection and explains the different armour parts highlighting them in sequence. Nowadays modern metric survey technologies allow us to collect and process very detailed 3D models able to satisfy a wide variety of applications field, from specialized representation to didactic final uses in museums exhibitions