Revisiting the past through virtual reconstruction: The case of the Grand monuments of Paharpur, Bengal (original) (raw)
Related papers
2016
This study embarked upon a premise that considers architecture of building as a dynamic phenomenon. A building from its conception is susceptible to change due to various reasons. An historical building that is several hundred years old must have undergone through changes due to political, social, religious and most importantly functional reasons. Hence capturing building and its dynamic evolution is necessary to appreciate its architecture as well as its heritage value. Whereas the conventional method of fact based historiography only captures the building in particular moment. It makes architectural historians to become perplexed over to which particular moment to be documented. It is a great challenge for the architectural historians to bring back these dynamic characters of the building that are mostly inconspicuous in nature from this point of time. In this situation the historical discourse also remains elusive and blurred. The idea of 4d capturing comes in front in this scenario. Current research would venture into this emerging idea to record the architecture of the early period. This paper highlights the need for a flexible tool to capture this dynamic character of the building. By citing the case study of the 7 th century Buddhist Monastery in Bengal, this paper thus argues for the need of capturing the narrative of a historical building than the facts to get a complete picture of its architecture. This study aims at capturing the narrative of Sompur Mahavihara, the UNESCO World Heritage site in Bangladesh, which is currently in ruinous condition. However, it's few hundred years life suggests that as architecture it was subject to change due to different reasons, mainly political, religious and rituals. Being a monument that belongs to the flourishing phase of a society, traditionally this monastery architecture certainly played a role as a stage for religious and political pageantry as well as different religious performances. As architecture it works as complex process of interaction of different layers of ideas, agendas and authorship through time. This paper would further explore different tools for historians to capturing this process of interaction and preserving/ conserving the narrative of this building using virtual modelling.
ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2013
This study embarked upon a premise that considers architecture of building as a dynamic phenomenon. A building from its conception is susceptible to change due to various reasons. An historical building that is several hundred years old must have undergone through changes due to political, social, religious and most importantly functional reasons. Hence capturing building and its dynamic evolution is necessary to appreciate its architecture as well as its heritage value. Whereas the conventional method of fact based historiography only captures the building in particular moment. It makes architectural historians to become perplexed over to which particular moment to be documented. It is a great challenge for the architectural historians to bring back these dynamic characters of the building that are mostly inconspicuous in nature from this point of time. In this situation the historical discourse also remains elusive and blurred. The idea of 4d capturing comes in front in this scenario. Current research would venture into this emerging idea to record the architecture of the early period. This paper highlights the need for a flexible tool to capture this dynamic character of the building. By citing the case study of the 7 th century Buddhist Monastery in Bengal, this paper thus argues for the need of capturing the narrative of a historical building than the facts to get a complete picture of its architecture. This study aims at capturing the narrative of Sompur Mahavihara, the UNESCO World Heritage site in Bangladesh, which is currently in ruinous condition. However, it's few hundred years life suggests that as architecture it was subject to change due to different reasons, mainly political, religious and rituals. Being a monument that belongs to the flourishing phase of a society, traditionally this monastery architecture certainly played a role as a stage for religious and political pageantry as well as different religious performances. As architecture it works as complex process of interaction of different layers of ideas, agendas and authorship through time. This paper would further explore different tools for historians to capturing this process of interaction and preserving/ conserving the narrative of this building using virtual modelling.
Bringing back the lost monument : Interactive virtual model of Sompur Mahavihara, Bengal
This study aims at developing an interactive virtual model of the lost architectural heritage of the 8th century Buddhist Monastery of Sompur Mahaviahara in Bengal. This monument at Paharpur drew the attention of the architectural historians of the South Asia from the very discovery of the ruins of the structure at the beginning of the twentieth century because of its unique architectural features and strategic spatio-temporal location. Several attempts have been made so far to recover the memories of this medieval Buddhist Monastery after the amnesia of a millennium. However, the limited amount of archaeological resource, literary evidences and epigraphic records at the disposal of the architectural historians appears as the main thicket. This study is an attempt to generate a an interactive virtual model of the monument that would accommodate different contesting narratives regarding its architecture. It looks into the history in a more dynamic way and uses virtual reconstruction as flexible tool to reconstruct the lost form of the building. The main idea is to develop a method conserving, retrieving and commemorating the both tangible and intangible aspects of the heritage through the participation of the general public. This model will be used as a virtual museum for continuous and feedback and verification from scholars and aspiring general public and eventually refine the model based on these feedback. This participatory approach of reconstructing will minimize the distance between the people and object of heritage as well as engender a new way of experiencing, evaluating and appreciating heritage buildings.
Workshop, Long and Short Paper, and Poster Proceedings from the Fourth Immersive Learning Research Network Conference (iLRN 2018 MONTANA), 2018
This work aims to address the Digital Heritage topic in the light of the new investigation opportunities within History of Architecture, which have been brought by technological development. The protagonism assumed by digital drawing will also be addressed as a research, analysis, preservation and promotion tool of the cities' built heritage. Our object of study-the conventual complex of Monchique (Porto, Portugal), which has suffered several transformations over time (both in form and function), serves as an example to show how digital tools contribute to the spreading of historical knowledge as a living memory, mostly to a wider audience and not only to experts in the field. The three-dimensional models, such as the one we propose to build, take on shapes capable of (non-destructively) reconstitute previous stages or the constructive evolution of the building, enabling its better understanding , within a both humanist and enlightened perspective. Given that the digital cannot replace physical and phenomenological experiences of built heritage, it does however allow innovation in its holistic and multidisciplinary reading, providing new opportunities for its knowledge and fruition , as it is the specific case of the virtual tours and the augmented reality. In conclusion, we fit in a wider vision which perceives that the combining of science, culture and education, together with the potential of digital and immer-sive technologies, can actively contribute to an improvement in learning and development of multiple perspectives on the built heritage and, consequently, on the shift of learnings between experiences, in a shared construction of knowledge.
This study embarked upon a premise that considers architecture of building as a dynamic phe-nomenon. Hence capturing building and its dynamic evolution is necessary to appreciate its ar-chitecture as well as its heritage value. Whereas the conventional method of fact based histori-ography only captures the building in particular moment. It makes architectural historians to become perplexed over to which particular moment to be documented. The idea of 4d capturing comes in front in this scenario. This paper highlights the need for a flexible tool to capture this dynamic character of the building. By citing the case study of first urban mosque in Australian soil, this paper thus argues for the need of capturing the narrative of a historical building along with the facts to get a complete picture of its architecture.
Virtual Reconstruction of Historical Architectural Monuments Methods and Technologies
2019
The paper examines and shows the relevance of the reconstruction of architectural monuments at the present stage. Moreover, methodological techniques of historical heritage reconstruction, including using computer technology, are thoroughly analyzed. Scientific publications and data on the topic of virtual reconstruction of architectural monuments are closely studied. The role of literary and documentary descriptions of historical monuments is defined as the main method used in virtual reconstruction. As a result of an in-depth analysis of the issue, it is predicted that the virtual method of reconstruction will become the leading scientific and research system for the restoration of historical and cultural heritage. It enhances the level of scientific research by involving more researchers in the study of architectural monuments of the past. Conceptual methods and the possibility of their introduction into programs of educational institutions of the architectural profile are considered. Technical accessibility and availability of the results of academic research will provide one with an opportunity to become familiar with the architectural monuments of other countries. Moreover, virtual reconstruction creates the basis for the formation of virtual museum spaces, which contributes to the enhancement of the intellectual and educational process on the global level.
Virtual Reconstruction of the Ancient State of a Ruined Church
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2012
Reconstrucción virtual del estado previo de una iglesia en ruinas RESUMEN: Los modelos tridimensionales pueden representar tanto los elementos patrimoniales existentes como los ya han dejado de existir. En este proyecto se trata la reconstrucción tridimensional de la iglesia del Monasterio de San Prudencio de Monte Laturce (Clavijo, La Rioja, España) tal como se supone que fue durante el siglo XV. En la actualidad el edificio está arruinado por lo que ha sido necesario realizar una importante reconstrucción virtual basad en hipótesis que han requerido la colaboración de técnicos de diferentes áreas de conocimiento, por ejemplo, se ha contado con un levantamiento topográfico de los restos y del área circundante, datos sobre los materiales e hipótesis arqueológicas y arquitectónicas. Dado que existe información de múltiples fuentes, ha sido necesario incorporar un conjunto de criterios de selección y evaluación de las mismas. DESCRIPTORES NATURALES: Fotogrametría, documentación, ortofotografía, reconstrucción virtual, modelo 3D, patrimonio cultural DESCRIPTORES CONTROLADOS: (Procedentes del Tesauro UNESCO [http://databases.unesco.org/thessp/\]) Patrimonio Cultural, Infografía, Fuente de Información Abstract TITLE: Virtual Reconstruction of the Ancient State of a Ruined Church ABSTRACT: Three dimensional virtual models can represent both the existing and the already destroyed architectural heritage. This project deals with the 3D reconstruction and representation of the church of San Prudencio's Monastery in La Rioja (Spain) as it is supposed to be during the 15th century. Today the monument is totally in ruins; hence severe reconstruction was needed. This is an exemplary project of close collaboration of different scientific fields. Surveying data of the monument itself and of the wider area around it, but also architectural and archaeological data were collected in situ. It was not possible from the current situation to conclude about the exact form, style and representation of the monument; hence a large part of the project is based on assumptions which have a sound scientific base. Because of the multisource data there was need to define specific criteria by which every data source was evaluated. NATURAL
Between Spatial and Archival Data: Digital Humanities for the History of a Staircase of Pitti Palace
The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2023
In the last decades, surveys produced with geomatic techniques are increasingly used for the study and conservation of the built heritage because they automatically collect large amounts of data with an accuracy and objectivity that could not be achieved with traditional techniques. As in other fields of digital and spatial humanities, the combination of spatial data with archival and secondary sources provides new tools for reconstructing the history, construction, and transformation of a historic architecture. The new digital survey of Pitti Palace, which was carried out between 2019 and 2021, has revealed aspects neglected by previous surveys and historical studies. Pitti Palace is the largest historical civil building in Florence. In the 16th century, Bartolomeo Ammannati carried out important extensions, including the so-called "spiral staircase", one of the most important staircases in the palace. This staircase, of which there is little documentation, although it is considered a masterpiece, was demolished at the beginning of the 19th century by Pasquale Poccianti to make way for the "New Secondary Staircase", on which previous studies have focused mainly on stylistic and decorative aspects. Using digital spatial data as a primary source, the research aimed to explain the construction history of the new staircase built by Poccianti, allowing a precise comparison between the archive documents and the actual geometry of the building elements. It also highlights previously undocumented features, including the evidence for the Ammannati staircase and the important changes made during the construction of the new staircase. The article shows how the insertion of the new staircase profoundly altered the design, structure and layout of a wing of the Pitti Palace. It also suggests how a more transdisciplinary and holistic approach helps the study of historical architecture.
Architectural Heritage and 3D Models
Lecture notes in computational vision and biomechanics, 2014
Architecture represents the physical space built by man-in its immanent and tangible presence-and a spatial and temporal event. The architectural 3D digital model is the mediator between intellect and tangible reality, and it takes the form of a digital replica of the observable phenomenal reality. Thereby the model expressesi.e. contains-the history and it's passage through time; a visual narration that is part of the historical process and critical analysis. It's an interpretable document, but also a genuine critical-historical text, expressed with the figurative language of the virtual dimension. Presupposition of this methodology for historical analysis, it's a careful architectural surveying, a wise modeling project and an intelligent and critical use of the digital model.