The paper compares two workflows for the achievement of 3D models aimed at in-depth studies on the geometric features of Cultural Heritage artefacts and their dissemination. The purpose is the outlining of pros and cons of different techniques coming from entertainment and video games industry, starting from highly reliable 3D documentation of cultural assets, i.e. architectural/archaeological/urban sites. Two different possible applications are described: (i) procedural modelling used for understanding and visualising reconstruction hypotheses of the vaulted pavilions at Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli, Rome; (ii) optimisation of 3D high-detailed models, as input files, turned into visual reliable and highly portable assets for game-engines. The first case study is focussed on creating a flexible model for evalueting reconstruction hypotheses and supplying restorers with useful hints for shape completion of ruined pavilions. The second case study makes available detailed digital contents for storytelling historical and cultural events in an attractive way, as in the case of the urban explorative model of Chiuro, a small town in northern Italy.

Keywords: Digital Photogrammetry, Laser Scanning, Reverse Modelling, Best Fitting Circumferences, 3D models, Virtual Restoration, Virtual Anastylosis, Teatro Marittimo The Maritime Theatre is one of the iconic buildings of Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli. The state of conservation of the theatre is not only the result of weathering over time, but also due to restoration work carried out during the Fifties of the past century. Although this anastylosis process had the virtue of partially restoring a few of the fragments of the compound’s original image, it now reveals diverse inconsistencies and genuine errors in the reassembling of the fragments. This study aims at carrying out a digital reinterpretation of the restoration of the architectural fragments in relation to the architectural order, with particular reference to the miscellaneous decoration of the frieze of the Teatro Marittimo (vestibule and atrium). Over the course of the last few years the Teatro Marittimo has been the target of numerous surveying campaigns using digital methodology (laser scanner and photogrammetry SfM/MVS). Starting with the study of the remains of the opus caementicium on the ground, it is possible to identify surfaces which are then used in the model for subsequent cross sections, so as to achieve the best fitting circumferences to use as reference points to put the fragments back into place.

The digital acquisition of Chiuro (Italy) is part of a research action of the still ongoing project “Le radici di una identità” (“An identity and its roots”), dealing with the documentation of the original urban structure of Chiuro, a small settlement located in northern Italy, whose interesting remains of mediaeval towers and Renaissance palaces are still well preserved. The paper focusses on the complete workflow developed by the group to create an explorative and implementable 3D digital model of the urban centre, constructed by a set of optimised mesh models. From the acquisition phase to geometric processing methodologies, different modelling strategies have been investigated to solve problems related to survey integration, and optimisation of the architectural digital assets. The main challenge is in fact the utilisation of the huge amount of data gathered during the previous surveying campaigns, providing a specific workflow to obtain an optimised 3D model. Moreover, the paper analyses some outputs: one is the storytelling of historical and cultural heritage in an attractive way, using game engines to visualise and give access to detailed digital contents to the general public.

Esta contribución forma parte de un panorama de investigaciones y estudios relacionados con la aplicación de sistemas BIM (Building Information Modeling) para la documentación, restauración y gestión del Patrimonio Cultural. El artículo investiga los problemas encontrados y las soluciones adoptadas en el proceso de transformación de los datos adquiridos mediante prospección digital en un modelo HBIM de un pequeño panteón situado en el cementerio de Castellón de la Plana (España). La metodología de representación de un Bien Cultural mediante un modelo BIM no presenta un flujo de trabajo único y compartido, ya que depende principalmente de las características del objeto de estudio y de los propósitos de dicho modelo, elementos que difícilmente pueden referirse a estándares precisos y homologados. En el caso que nos ocupa, el objetivo final es crear un modelo BIM que represente correctamente el edificio, pero que sea sobre todo una herramienta capaz de satisfacer las necesidades de los profesionales que participan en el proyecto de restauración. La unión de las necesidades de documentación y representación con las de restauración ha llevado a la adopción de flujos de trabajo específicos para la transposición del edificio a un modelo BIM, cada uno de ellos relativo a categorías de elementos (la cerca de hierro, el suelo, las decoraciones), que han sido objeto de dos contribuciones anteriores y de una tesis doctoral. En esta contribución se explora en profundidad el proceso de creación de las cubiertas, que ejemplifica los principales problemas encontrados en el proceso de creación de un modelo HBIM.