Heritage buildings usually have complex (non-parametric) geometries that turn their digitization through conventional methods in inaccurate and time-consuming processes. When it comes to the survey and representation of historical assets, remote sensing technologies have been playing key roles in the last few years: 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry surveys save time in the field, while proving to be extremely accurate at registering non-regular geometries of buildings. However, the efficient transformation of remote-sensing data into as-built parametric smart models is currently an unsolved challenge. A pragmatic and organized Historic Building Information Modeling (HBIM) methodology is essential in order to obtain a consistent model that can bring benefits and integrate conservation and restoration work. This article addresses the creation of an HBIM model of heritage assets using 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry. Our findings are illustrated in one case study: The Engine House Paços Reais in Lisbon. The paper first describes how and what measures should be taken to plan a careful scan-to-HBIM process. Second, the description of the remote-sensing survey campaign is conducted accordingly and is aimed at a BIM output, including the process of data alignment, cleaning, and merging. Finally, the HBIM modeling phase is described, based on point cloud data.

The use of world-simulation videogames for cultural heritage (CH) communication presents one of the greatest opportunities for engaging people with the safeguarding of cultural resources. However, not all simulation videogames have the capacity to transmit heritage values efficiently. This article reviews the use of serious and commercial videogames in CH to frame and properly identify characteristics for the selection and assessment of videogames in the context of cultural communication. Based on the analysis of the capacities of videogames to motivate, immerse and represent reality, the videogame Minecraft is identified as one of the optimal solutions to represent and promote engagement with the cultural built environment. As such, the authors assessed the capacity of the videogame Minecraft to be used as an efficient tool to communicate built heritage environments, considering identified criteria on immersion, motivation, and fidelity on simulation.

The appearance of the Terrestrial Laser Scanners or 3D Scanners in Heritage recording has been relatively recent and it is submitted to a constant evolution determined mainly by the big technological advance in fields like Optics, Signal Processing, Electronics and Computer Science. As they have become popular so suddenly, it is essential to study the behavior of these evolving devices in a variety of scenarios to support an accurate assessment of their capabilities. Until two years ago, TOF (time-of-flight) and PS (phase-shift) technologies could hardly be considered side by side comparable, at least under equal terms and requirements. The first enables much longer ranges, while the latter dominated the short distances producing more accurate data with very high acquisition rates. Today, in a sort of convergent career, the scope of phase-shift technology has grown to near 200 meters and the time-of-flight team have been increasing their speed to figures as 100,000 points per second. In this article we expose the results of the comparison between the data delivered by two scanners based on the two related technologies that categorize today's both long and medium-range scanners. The two have been opposed face to face in the survey of the so called "the Sistine Chapel of the Spanish Romanesque" during the same day, and under the same environmental conditions, using equivalent capture settings. But now that as we noted these technologies can fight in the same arena, can we claim to be able to produce similar results whatever which one we choose? The answer is "no" or a "conditioned yes" at least. Let’s leave numbers and nominal specifications behind and see what else makes them behave so differently.

Conservation planning is a complex process involving a wide range of agents such as architects, engineers, conservators and archaeologists. Their integrated inputs contribute to the definition of criteria for the conservation project and the conservation strategy. In this process, graphical documentation is a common denominator to all involved areas-of-expertise. It provides the basis for the dialog between agents coming from different fields of knowledge that often don’t speak the same technical language nor share the same codes. The way this dialog can be improved through documentation is the main motivation of our study. In this paper we analyze the requirements of digital documentation in Cultural Heritage (CH) conservation strategies, and we tackle the fundamental role of photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), and integrated implementation throughout the several steps, from the fieldwork to the conservation planning for CH sites. The described process is demonstrated through the case study of ‘the conservation project of the historic walls of Lagos’, in south Portugal. After introduction and related work, the study is structured in four main sections. In the second section, we present the case study and conduct an analysis of existing data and preliminary synthesis of heritage values related to the historic walls of Lagos. Second section corresponds to an overview of the project workflow. This spans from recording and documentation, considering geometry, colour, light, materials and degradation forms; to their analysis and diagnosis, resulting in criteria and guidelines for the intervention actions. Third section emphasises on how the simultaneous use of photogrammetry and TLS in the documentation process, and its relationship with other methods and techniques, introduces a distinctive character in the conservation project. Fourth section is about the documentation process with photogrammetry and TLS. Finally, fifth section focus in the analysis and architectural project.

Insofar as our cultural heritage (CH) has become not only an economic resource but a key element in defining our identity, its accurate and flexible documentation has emerged as an essential task. The generation of 3D information with physical and functional characteristics is now possible through the connection of survey data with Historical Building Information Modeling (HBIM). However, few studies have focused on the semantic enrichment process of models based on point clouds, especially on the field of cultural heritage. These singularities make the conversion of point cloud to “as-built” HBIM an expensive process from the mathematical and computational viewpoint. At present, there is no software that guarantees automatic and efficient data conversion in architectural or urban contexts. The ongoing research “Documenting and Visualizing Industrial Heritage” is conducted by the School of Architecture, Tampere University of Technology, Finland based on an Open Notebook Reserarch Model. It is focused on advance the knowledge of digital operating environments for the representation and management of historical buildings and sites. On the one hand, the research is advancing in three-dimensional “as-built” modeling based on remote sensing data, while on the other hand is aiming to incorporate more qualitative information based on concepts of production and management in the lifecycle of the built environment. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the different approaches to date on the HBIM generation chain: from 3D point cloud data collection to semantically enriched parametric models.