Digital tools for documenting and conserving Bahrain's built heritage for posterity

Documenting the physical characteristics of historic structures is the first step for any preventive maintenance, monitoring, conservation, planning and promotion action. Metric documentation supports informative decision-making process for property owners, site managers, public officials, and conservators. This information serves also a broader purpose, over time, it becomes the primary means by which scholars, heritage professionals, and the general public understand a site that radically changed or disappeared. Further, documentation supports monitoring as well as the character-defining elements analysis, relevant to define the values of the building for the local and international community. The awareness of these concepts oriented the digital documentation and training activities, developed between 2016 and 2017, for the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) in Bahrain. The developed activities had two main aims: A) support the local staff in using specific recording techniques to efficiently document and consequently preserve built heritage sites with appropriate accuracy and in a relatively short period; b) develop a pilot project in collaboration with BACA to validate the capacity of the team to accurately document and produce measured records for the conservation and management of Bahrain built heritage. The documentation project has been developed by a multidisciplinary team of experts from BACA, Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS), Carleton University, Canada and a contracted researcher from the Gicarus Lab, Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) in Italy. In the training activities, the participants have been exposed to a wide range of recording techniques, illustrating them the selection criteria for the most suitable one, according to requirements, site specifications, categories of values identified for the various built elements, and budget. The pilot project has been tested on three historical structures, both with strong connotations in the Bahrain cultural identity: The Shaikh Isa bin Ali house, Aljazzaf house and the Siyadi Majlis. These two buildings, outstanding examples of Bahrain architecture as well as tangible memory of the country history, have been documented employing several digital techniques, including: Aerial and terrestrial photogrammetry, rectifying photography, total station and 3D laser scanning

E-SCAPE New tools and new opportunities for the localization of Expo 2015 general interest services along the Canale Cavour, a backbone of the Milan-Turin urban region

Publication of the Alta Scuola Politecnica project "E-SCAPE. New tools and new opportunities for the localization of Expo 2015 general interest services along the Canale Cavour, a backbone of the Milan-Turin urban region

AR and Knowledge Dissemination: the Case of the Museo Egizio

In the context of the growing pivotal role of digitalization for cultural institutions, the digital transition of the Museo Egizio di Torino is centered on the integration of heterogeneous information and data to implement the management, dissemination, and promotion of the Museum’s collection. This digital transition is intended not only as a mere acquisition of technological tools but rather as the construction of an integrated system that facilitates dialogue and connections between all museum activities, from daily management to research, from the design of installations to the generation of multiple possible narratives. Within this framework, the essay illustrates, through two empirical case studies, the opportunities of AR technologies to implement the knowledge and dissemination of tangible and intangible aspects of the millennial historical objects preserved in the Museum

DIGITAL WORKFLOW FOR THE CONSERVATION OF BAHRAIN BUILT HERITAGE: THE SHEIK ISA BIN ALI HOUSE

Currently, the commercial market offers several tools for digital documentation of historic sites and buildings. Photogrammetry and laser scanning play a fundamental role in the acquisition of metric information, which is then processed to generate reliable records particularly useful also in the built heritage conservation field. Although potentially very fast and accurate, such techniques require expert operators to produce reliable results, especially in the case of complex and large sites. The aim of this paper is to present the digital workflow developed for data acquisition and processing of the Shaikh Isa Bin Ali house in Muharraq, Bahrain. This historic structure is an outstanding example of Bahrain architecture as well as tangible memory of the country history, with strong connotations in the Bahrain cultural identity. The building has been documented employing several digital techniques, including: aerial (drone) and terrestrial photogrammetry, rectifying photography, total station and laser scanning. The documentation project has been developed for the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) by a multidisciplinary team of experts from Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS, Carleton University, Canada) and Gicarus Lab (Politecnico di Milano, Italy)

3D modelling in Architecture: from tangible to virtual model

Models as useful tools within architecture practice have been used for centuries. While information about their use before Hellenistic civilization is limited, we have evidence to suggest that ancient Greek society used models in their architectural practice. This trend continued until the Renaissance. After this period this trend began to decline as a result of the influential theories presented by Galileo Galilei, who demonstrated how models cannot provide a reliable structural assessment. Current practice is once again embracing the use of 3D modeling, even if not in the tangible form rather in the virtual and digital form. Tangible and virtual 3D models used by architects have changed in type, scope and function. They play different roles within the design processes and in the project management in both new and existing architecture. The paper presents an overview of the ethical and practical dimension of models along history and their roles in architectural practice. The analysis of the historical transformations, in particular of the legacy of Leon Battista Alberti theories and thoughts, inspires some reflections on the current applications of 3D virtual models and on their role in the design as well in the construction phase. To gain awareness of the current uses of the virtual 3D models and their further possible developments, an overview of the transformation of the tangible models within the design processes along history will be provided. Keywords

The digital transformation of the Museo Egizio

The project of the digital transformation of Museo Egizio di Torino started in response to the rapid change of its structure and needs. The project is centred on the integration of heterogeneous information and data to implement collection management, conservation and research workflows. This paper presents the concept and design of a management system, called SiME (Sistema Museo Egizio) that the Museum conceived in collaboration with Politecnico di Milano. The project is intended not only as a mere acquisition of technological tools, but rather as the construction of an integrated system that facilitates dialogue and connections between all museum activities, from daily management to research, from the design of installations to the generation of multiple possible narratives. Considering the pace of technological innovation a solid methodological approach has been adopted to ensure the longevity of the designed solutions from a long-term perspective