3-D visualization and animation of architectonic elements for urban recovery and re-qualification

The disciplines of building recovery and urban re-qualification may draw big advantages from laser scanners, which can achieve 3-D models with very short post-processing times. The purpose of this study is to survey and acquire a solid model of historical architectonic faces and single decorative elements, using different kinds of laser scanners in order to evaluate every single instrument’s performance, relevant to the extension of the survey area. In practice, a scanner using the “time of flight” technology was tested on entire faces and a triangulation scanner was tested on the small single element acquisition. The trials have put in evidence that a time-of-flight instrument, for instance working 50-100 meters far from the target, can in short time acquire large surfaces. The reproduced model can be mapped with images and is accurate enough to plan a recovery project. Through digitalization it can also provide with the typical architectonic design and urban decline survey print-outs. The results of short distance scans, on the other hand, show a quality of survey optimal for applications of physical reconstruction of small decorative elements. The possibility to obtain material copies of decorative elements can be a major support for recovery projects where the substitution of degraded parts is foreseen. The possibility of utilization of different software for processing data acquired with laser scanner allowed for an optimization of the data processing itself. It is to be reminded that, at the present stage, software development for such applications is only effective with very powerful hardware and expert users. The article introduces specific cases that show the results exposed.