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Digital 3D Reconstruction in Urban Culture Heritage Conservation Using Remote Sensing

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2024) | Viewed by 10130

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and Arts, Università Iuav di Venezia, Santa Croce 191, 30135 Veezia, Italy
Interests: geomatics; remote sensing; metric survey techniques for cultural heritage assets; digital representation for cultural heritage assets
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Architecture and Design, Polytechnic University of Turin, Viale Pier Andrea Mattioli 39, 10138 Torino, Italy
Interests: urban heritage; UAV and close-range photogrammetry; SLAM-based technologies and application in the field of historical structures and urban contexts
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Three-dimensional digital technologies can now innovatively contribute to urban cultural heritage, lending themselves to the achievement of very different goals, from research to training, the dissemination to the fruition of cultural heritage itself, as well as supporting the interpretation of our legacy in the process of current urban transformation. Through technological innovation and the development of multimedia tools, it is now possible to integrate consolidated knowledge with alternative means of communication that can foster new methods of research, e-learning, and other potential uses of information and communications technology, boosting cultural and educational uses. In this context, 3D digital technologies have become increasingly important, not only because they are now an integral part of everyday life but also because they make information more easily accessible, allowing not only for digital reconstruction but even the superimposition and connection of information on urban heritage. It is now possible to develop and validate methods and tools that can provide more thorough and complex representations of urban data and phenomena, merging visual elements from metric data and non-graphic information related to the semantic dimension. Combining and comparing data from different sources, not solely geospatial ones, requires greater integration of highly varied professional skills and the areas of scholarship to which they belong. Inter- and cross-disciplinary research applied to our urban heritage is essential for achieving results and creating 3D digital products that, through this interaction and thanks to the fundamental spatial dimension of data correlation, can express their cognitive and educational potential for public use.

This Special Issue aims to collect papers that discuss the progress in the geometric and semantic generation of 3D urban heritage models, ranging from data collection and processing to 3D object identification, modeling and reconstruction, and including their spatial representation, visualization and management in a GIS/HBIM environment.

Dr. Caterina Balletti
Dr. Giulia Sammartano
Guest Editors

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • 3D building modeling/urban heritage documentation
  • 3D reconstruction and texturing of urban objects
  • cartographic, multi-platform (satellite, aerial, terrestrial) and multi-sensor (optical, laser) data fusion for 3D urban scene modeling
  • mobile mapping system
  • virtual city model generation
  • GIS mapping
  • BIM/HBIM

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

29 pages, 5712 KiB  
Article
Advanced Semi-Automatic Approach for Identifying Damaged Surfaces in Cultural Heritage Sites: Integrating UAVs, Photogrammetry, and 3D Data Analysis
by Tudor Caciora, Alexandru Ilieș, Grigore Vasile Herman, Zharas Berdenov, Bahodirhon Safarov, Bahadur Bilalov, Dorina Camelia Ilieș, Ștefan Baias and Thowayeb H. Hassan
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(16), 3061; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16163061 - 20 Aug 2024
Viewed by 357
Abstract
The analysis and preservation of the cultural heritage sites are critical for maintaining their historical and architectural integrity, as they can be damaged by various factors, including climatic, geological, geomorphological, and human actions. Based on this, the present study proposes a semi-automatic and [...] Read more.
The analysis and preservation of the cultural heritage sites are critical for maintaining their historical and architectural integrity, as they can be damaged by various factors, including climatic, geological, geomorphological, and human actions. Based on this, the present study proposes a semi-automatic and non-learning-based method for detecting degraded surfaces within cultural heritage sites by integrating UAV, photogrammetry, and 3D data analysis. A 20th-century fortification from Romania was chosen as the case study due to its physical characteristics and state of degradation, making it ideal for testing the methodology. Images were collected using UAV and terrestrial sensors and processed to create a detailed 3D point cloud of the site. The developed pipeline effectively identified degraded areas, including cracks and material loss, with high accuracy. The classification and segmentation algorithms, including K-means clustering, geometrical features, RANSAC, and FACETS, improved the detection of destructured areas. The combined use of these algorithms facilitated a detailed assessment of the structural condition. This integrated approach demonstrated that the algorithms have the potential to support each other in minimizing individual limitations and accurately identifying degraded surfaces. Even though some limitations were observed, such as the potential for the overestimation of false negatives and positives areas, the damaged surfaces were extracted with high precision. The methodology proved to be a practical and economical solution for cultural heritage monitoring and conservation, offering high accuracy and flexibility. One of the greatest advantages of the method is its ease of implementation, its execution speed, and the potential of using entirely open-source software. This approach can be easily adapted to various heritage sites, significantly contributing to their protection and valorization. Full article
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17 pages, 10291 KiB  
Article
Narrating Serranos Bridge Evolution in Valencia (1500–2022) Using Historic Building Information Modelling and Historical Data
by Antonio Gómez, Ali Adineh, Max Rahrig and José Luis Lerma
Remote Sens. 2024, 16(2), 310; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16020310 - 12 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1041
Abstract
The city of Valencia (Spain) is famous for its Gothic bridges, built in the 16th century. Today, the bridges no longer cross over the Turia River but have become walkways over one of the most extensive gardens in Europe. One of these bridges [...] Read more.
The city of Valencia (Spain) is famous for its Gothic bridges, built in the 16th century. Today, the bridges no longer cross over the Turia River but have become walkways over one of the most extensive gardens in Europe. One of these bridges is the Serranos Bridge, the oldest bridge in the city and for centuries, it was the only one that existed. This research narrates the evolution of the historical changes related to this bridge, using Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) technology. The Serranos Bridge (and related Serranos Towers) were recorded with the help of terrestrial laser scanning, and parametric 3D modelling was followed after scan-to-HBIM. By referring to historical documents and traces from the past, the height of the historic wall of the city was obtained and used to recreate the urban footprint of the area. In addition, the details of the historical bridge components and the subsequent volumetric changes were reconstructed through HBIM. This investigation shows that there is a common symbol in the historical bridges of Valencia, called Casilicium, of which no traces can be identified in the present bridge. The effective integration of historical data, geomatics and HBIM can be used to understand the past and its complex transformation over six centuries with unprecedented expectations. Full article
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23 pages, 9214 KiB  
Article
Nested Fabric Adaptation to New Urban Heritage Development
by Naai-Jung Shih and Yu-Huan Qiu
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(10), 2694; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15102694 - 22 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1336
Abstract
Old urban reform usually reactivates the urban fabric in a new era of sustainable development. However, what remains of the former fabric and how it interacts with the new one often inspires curiosity. How the old residents adapt their lives to the new [...] Read more.
Old urban reform usually reactivates the urban fabric in a new era of sustainable development. However, what remains of the former fabric and how it interacts with the new one often inspires curiosity. How the old residents adapt their lives to the new layout should be explored qualitatively and quantitatively. This research aimed to assess the old and new fabrics in the downtown area of Keelung, Taiwan, by considering the interactions between truncated layout, proportion, and infill orientation in the mature and immature interfaces. According to the historical reform map made in 1907, the newly constructed area occupied the old constructed area in seven downtown blocks. On average, the area composed of new buildings ranged from 135.60% to 239.20% of the old area, and the average volume of the buildings reached a maximum of 41.72 m when compared to the old buildings in place prior to the reform. It seems that the new fabric purposefully maintained the old temples at the centers of the blocks. However, the old alleys, which still remain within these blocks, have been significantly overloaded with services and have become auxiliary utility spaces for the in-block residences. With regard to the part of the fabric that was truncated or reoriented by new streets, the modification could also be easily found on the second skin. A physical model analysis used a UAV 3D cloud model and QGIS® to verify the axes, hierarchies, entrances, open spaces, and corners in the commission store block and temple blocks. We found that the 3D point model and historical maps presented a convincing explanation of the evolved fabric from the past to the present. The stepwise segmentation visualizes the enclosed block inside a block on the historical maps and according to the present sections. We found that new roles for old alleys have evolved behind the new fabric. Full article
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35 pages, 9734 KiB  
Article
Integrated HBIM-GIS Models for Multi-Scale Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Historical Buildings
by Giulia Sammartano, Marco Avena, Edoardo Fillia and Antonia Spanò
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(3), 833; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15030833 - 2 Feb 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3244
Abstract
The complexity of historical urban centres progressively needs a strategic improvement in methods and the scale of knowledge concerning the vulnerability aspect of seismic risk. A geographical multi-scale point of view is increasingly preferred in the scientific literature and in Italian regulation policies, [...] Read more.
The complexity of historical urban centres progressively needs a strategic improvement in methods and the scale of knowledge concerning the vulnerability aspect of seismic risk. A geographical multi-scale point of view is increasingly preferred in the scientific literature and in Italian regulation policies, that considers systemic behaviors of damage and vulnerability assessment from an urban perspective according to the scale of the data, rather than single building damage analysis. In this sense, a geospatial data sciences approach can contribute towards generating, integrating, and making virtuous relations between urban databases and emergency-related data, in order to constitute a multi-scale 3D database supporting strategies for conservation and risk assessment scenarios. The proposed approach developed a vulnerability-oriented GIS/HBIM integration in an urban 3D geodatabase, based on multi-scale data derived from urban cartography and emergency mapping 3D data. Integrated geometric and semantic information related to historical masonry buildings (specifically the churches) and structural data about architectural elements and damage were integrated in the approach. This contribution aimed to answer the research question supporting levels of knowledge required by directives and vulnerability assessment studies, both about the generative workflow phase, the role of HBIM models in GIS environments and toward user-oriented webGIS solutions for sharing and public use fruition, exploiting the database for expert operators involved in heritage preservation. Full article
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29 pages, 11619 KiB  
Article
A Geomatic Approach to the Preservation and 3D Communication of Urban Cultural Heritage for the History of the City: The Journey of Napoleon in Venice
by Giulia Fiorini, Isabella Friso and Caterina Balletti
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(14), 3242; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14143242 - 6 Jul 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2616
Abstract
The use of historical maps in a digital environment can give considerable support to the study of the history of cities. It allows you to combine information from different sources, processed according to different geomatic techniques, to provide a reconstruction of urban configurations [...] Read more.
The use of historical maps in a digital environment can give considerable support to the study of the history of cities. It allows you to combine information from different sources, processed according to different geomatic techniques, to provide a reconstruction of urban configurations of the past and their comparison with iconographic and textual documentation of the same period. The aim of the research is to try to make the knowledge of a historical event easily accessible by converging within a simple model the various sources on which the reconstruction itself is based. This paper deals with the reconstruction of the ephemeral architecture created for Napoleon’s visit to Venice through the generation of 3D virtual models. The reconstruction was approached through a rigorous method, inserting these models into the context for which they were conceived. The generation of the historical city model, taking advantage of the algorithms of structure from motion applied to photogrammetry, made it possible to compare it with what was shown by the old paintings depicting the event. Virtual models processed within the GIS environment have been uploaded online thanks to the use of WebGIS. We chose to share the research results on the internet to allow users to avail themselves of a space that no longer exists from within it, going beyond the pictorial images of the past, overcoming communication through rendering and videos. The simultaneous application of methods and techniques related to the various components of geomatics within the digital environment has enabled the operation of a faithful reconstruction of reality, bringing to light past urban scenarios that no longer exist and are only known through paintings. Full article
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