Digital Environments: Design, Heritage and Architecture
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Tanya Szrajber

Editorial

Proceedings of the fifteenth Annual CHArt Conference held at the University of Glasgow, on the 24th-25th September 1999.

 

This is the first time that the CHArt Conference papers have been published electronically. The 1999 Conference examined the impact of computers on the design and study of architectural heritage and its conservation, and was appropriately held in Glasgow, nominated UK City of Architecture and Design for 1999. The programme was divided into three sessions, 'Issues', 'Methods' and 'Projects and Processes', and the order in which the papers occur in this publication follows the structure of the Conference.

Session 1 ('Issues') begins with two papers which look at the benefits of using new technologies to examine and preserve the built environment. 'Virtual Heritage: Does the Past have a Presence in the Future?', by Grant and Ennis, explores the concept of Virtual Heritage (VH) - the simulated experience of past, present or future environments. The technology behind this concept is Virtual Reality (VR), and the paper concentrates on its application to historical environments now under threat or no longer in existence (rather than those designed for future construction or for imaginary purposes). As well as the educational and archival benefits offered by such applications, there is a practical advantage in the potential to actually preserve our heritage by providing 'remote access' to sites which are gradually being eroded and where access has to be severely restricted. Three examples of VH applications are examined, based on the work of the Architecture and Building Aids Computer Unit in the Department of Architecture at Strathclyde University (ABACUS): the reconstruction of the Neolithic Village of Skara Brae; the production of a CD featuring a selection of the buildings made accessible for Glasgow's Doors Open Day (an annual event allowing visits to venues normally closed to the public); and the 'Glasgow Directory', an Internet-based Urban Information System (UIS) with a VR model of the city, in a project intended to promote the city to residents and tourists. The authors conclude that a growing number of heritage operators and software publishers are finding a receptive market for products addressing the issues discussed in the paper, and that VH applications will reach a wider audience. It is hoped that these developments will lead to a greater understanding and preservation of our heritage.

Terras' paper 'Virtual Reality and Archaeological Reconstruction' examines an archaeological VR model for use in a museum context, and assesses the educational and archaeological benefits of such a tool. According to Terras, the development of Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) has greatly facilitated the possibility of creating virtual archaeological models, with an increasing number now available on the Internet. The Sn-edjem Project, undertaken at the Humanities Advanced Technology and Information Institute at the University of Glasgow, examines the success of an interactive computer model of an Egyptian tomb, based on archaeological evidence, with the intention of installing it at the Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow. The aim is not just to create the model, but to evaluate the educational or archaeological merit of such models in general, as well as examining technical issues. An account is provided of the various stages involved in the actual project, such as the definition of project requirements with the Kelvingrove Museum, the selection of the site (at Deir el-Medina) and the resolution of problems inherent in the incomplete documentation of the tomb. The technical processes involved in the construction are then outlined, such as image development and mapping, refining the model, designing the user interface, testing the model, and finally evaluating it. Terras suggests that although VR can provide an alternative way to view complex three-dimensional data, it should be used together with other forms of presenting information. It is stressed that VR models should be seen as possible interpretations of the appearance of a site, rather than authentic reconstructions. There are also problems involved in the cost of the software and hardware, and the fact that such projects are labour-intensive and time-consuming. She concludes that further research and testing are required before archaeological virtual models become commonly available in public institutions.

Moving from the built environment to art history, Bailey and Graham describe the rationale and methodology of a two-year project in two distinct stages undertaken at the University of Northumbria, in a collaboration entitled 'Compare and Contrast: the impact of digital image technology on art history'. The paper concentrates on the first, theoretical, stage which is intended as a foundation for a second, empirical, stage which would take the form of a survey of art historians from various areas of specialization. Three propositions are examined: the first is that the approach to art history has been driven by the need of information providers to find uses for new technology and is based on a limited model of the discipline. The second is that art history's core skills differ from those of the other humanities but have not been fully examined. The third is that the history of the discipline in the last thirty years has been one of rapid and methodological expansion. The authors argue that art historians have been slow to relate their experience of the impact of new technology on their practice. The results of surveys carried out by networked resources such as the Visual Arts Data Service (VADS) are described, as well as another group of user surveys, in this case conducted by social scientists and library schools. The authors also consider the results of a Getty AHIP study looking at the requirements, research behaviour and aspirations of art historians, conducted in 1988 when image libraries were in a developmental phase and the Internet was for specialists. The expectations regarding the impact of IT on art history revealed in the study are examined a decade later to see whether they have been fulfilled. The methodology for the second, empirical, stage of the project is then described, including the selection of the user group, method of questioning, aim of the interviews, etc., and conclusions drawn from a pilot questionnaire.

Moloney's paper 'Collapsing the Tetrahedron: Architecture with(in) Digital Machines' also looks at theoretical issues, in this case by challenging a theory by the theorist and historian Robin Evans that architectural design is 'action at a distance'. Evans explored the relationship between drawings and architecture by means of a diagram 'Projection and its analogues', presenting architectural activity as a tetrahedron. The four nodes of the tetrahedron are said to illustrate the schism between architectural drawings and the realised building. Through the diagram, Evans proposes that all architectural activity - thinking, sketching, building and evaluation - is carried out via 'projective transactions'. More specifically, an idea takes form as an internalised image, is explored via a sketch, sold to clients as a perspective drawing, and is realized by orthographic drawings. Most of the creative activity takes the form of describing the architectural object via the process of drawing, and the designated object itself is but one node in the tetrahedron of 'projective transactions'. Moloney challenges Evans' theory by introducing a new element into the diagram - digital media (rather than just physical models which are already accommodated). He describes how recent computer-based procedures 'emergent form', 'immersive editing' and 'computer-aided construction' allow the nodes of the tetrahedron to dissolve, thus blurring the distinction between designer, digital model and realized construction. In Moloney's view, the computer-based procedures allow the designer a sense of working on the architecture as opposed to working with representations of it. In conclusion, it can be said that the architect effectively works directly with the product as opposed to 'action at a distance' via drawing, thus effectively providing an alternative theory to that of Evans.

Session 2 ('Methods') begins with a paper by Bordoni, Colagrossi, Martellotti and Seccaroni entitled 'Clustering techniques for the Analysis of the Execution of a Fresco', which looks at the way in which a software system could be used to study the technique used by a fresco painter. In large fresco paintings, the wet plaster (intonaco) has to be applied in sections (giornate), which are then worked on while wet. As new giornate are applied, overlaps are created along the borders of previous ones. Such overlaps are generally recorded on a map, and studying them provides information about their chronological order. This method is problematic, however, when dealing with large numbers of giornate, and the paper describes an application used to overcome this drawback. Frescoes are modelled by a direct acrylic graph (DAG), each node identified by a giornata (represented in the application by integers or characters). The application permits the manipulation of the binary relations involving all the pairs of adjacent giornate in an entire painting. The paper looks at various types of clustering techniques used to simplify the graphs and render them more interpretable.

In a paper entitled 'Towards a Prototype for the Collection of Digital Medieval Moulding Profiles', Bradshaw and Moss provide an overview of a prototype system for the acquisition of architectural moulding profiles, using 'laser triangulation' to provide a contact-free means of recording the profiles. The analysis of cross-sectional moulding profiles is recognised as a valuable means of tracing changes in the design of Medieval buildings. Existing manual techniques for recording profile data are regarded as time-consuming and inconsistent. The traditional methods of producing profile drawings require physical contact with the moulding surface which can become problematic with inaccessible architectural features, such as a clerestory arch. In addition, storing and cross-referencing large quantities of such drawings to allow comparison of moulding sequences across a wide range of features is also problematic. The paper describes a collaborative project between the departments of Computer Science and History of Art at Trinity College Dublin, which addresses the difficulties of profile acquisition and archiving the information, by aiming to create a database of Irish Medieval mouldings. The paper outlines the first phase, an investigation of the use of computer technology as an accurate, consistent and flexible means of profile acquisition. The technique chosen is an adaptation of the so-called 'basic laser triangulation' method which is performed by projecting a laser-generated dot onto the surface and using a photo-sensor (plus focussing optics) to register its position. On the adaptation, a commercially available laser line generator is used, and projects a line rather than a dot. A CCD camera is used to observe the laser, and the image from the CCD sensor encodes the measurements for each line. Examples of the technique are illustrated, and the authors conclude with suggestions of how to improve the system used, and the aim to develop a database system capable of storing the profile curves, together with text and photographs of actual mouldings and their contexts. The database is also intended to provide cross-referencing capabilities.

Benton's paper 'A System for Managing Architectural Drawings as Bitmap Files' describes a project which draws on the author's Access database of around five thousand nine hundred drawings produced in the 1920s by the French architect Le Corbusier, annotated and sorted into groups, each group representing a stage in the design of one of the architect's buildings (mainly houses). The database is structured around three main tables: SHEETS with data pertaining to each physical drawing (such as its number, medium, etc.); DRAWINGS with data on each distinct drawing or design on a sheet (such as the type of drawing, attributed date, etc.) and CODE GROUPS, used to organise the drawings into the design stages for each house. The source of the research material - the Fondation Le Corbusier (FLC) in Paris - does not allow researchers to study the drawings directly, but rather to use Kodak microfilm cards with a negative image of the drawing. Benton describes two programs written by him in Visual Basic 4, called 'DRAWINGS' and 'TABLE', using the built-in JET database engine to link to his Access database. The result is that any drawings can be scaled, lined up to match and compared, and the educational potential of such programs is evident.

Session 3 ('Projects and Processes') begins with a paper by Pickering and Sharpe, from the Mackintosh School of Architecture, 'The St Avits Project'. The abbey at St Avit Senieur in the Dordogne exemplifies a particular Byzantine style of the region, according to which the abbey would originally have had domes over the three sections of the nave, a style known as 'Byzantine Romanesque', rather than the ribbed Angevin vaults that it currently has. Since all the original documents on the abbey were destroyed, evidence for the argument regarding the original structure can only be deduced from the abbey's actual fabric. The project aims to reconstruct the abbey as a computer model to test the various ideas about its construction and to investigate the use of the Web as a tool for collective research. The paper describes the abbey and the nature of the research and explains the methods used, results obtained, and also a description of the project's first Web site. The research techniques are described, such as the use of laser levelling and laser distance measuring equipment, digital cameras and digital video with two Macintosh laptops, one PC laptop, and a modem connection to the Web. The Web site is also described, and includes four options - elevations, information, images and panoramas.

Moving from architecture to transient forms of art, Bushnell examines the challenges of capturing such artworks - interactive works, temporary installations, or one-off performances. The paper, 'Documentation and archiving of an Interactive Installation', presents the process of producing an application designed to document and archive an interactive, temporary, on-line installation, Pierre Vivant's 'The Space of Use', which was exhibited in a 'physical sense' (at the Millais Gallery) as well as in a 'virtual' one (on the Web). The results of the project include a Web site and a CD-ROM. Details of the tools used in producing the application are provided, in particular the use of SpyCam, one of two most commonly used software packages for capturing an image and uploading it to a chosen Web site. In addition, the author gives a very useful practical account of the actual processes involved in her project, of problems encountered and financial considerations. The Web site is then described, and includes a wide range of options, such as information on the exhibition and on the artist, a views of the installation live at the Millais Gallery, video excerpts of various stages of the exhibition, the artist's biography, visitor comments, and technical information. Bushnell intends her application to be used as a model by galleries to archive such transient works of art, in an affordable and accessible manner.

The last paper, 'Using Computers to Enhance Public Participation in Urban Design', by Day and Gorst, looks at the use of computers in the planning process within Bath's heritage environment. Consultation techniques allowing the general public to participate in the debates surrounding urban design are regarded by the authors as time-consuming and have not been widely used. This problem is being addressed, since Local Authorities are beginning to use the Internet to publicise information relating to the planning process. Two principal areas of activity - local plan formulation and development control - are described, and the importance of participation by the wider public as well as by elected members of the Council, is emphasized. The authors concentrate on the visual modelling of planning proposals, and the ways in which the traditional method of depositing plans and physical models is being replaced by digital methods which have the potential to be developed as interactive tools for negotiation. The Bath model, a detailed three-dimensional computer model of the city, is described. It was initially developed eight years previously by the Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture (CASA) at the University of Bath, with most of the data provided by stereo pairs of aerial photographs. Since its creation, the Bath Model has been used in various planning situations, which are described. One drawback of the original model was that it relied on pre-rendered animation sequences and photo-montages, so that viewing positions and animation paths had to be determined prior to creating the images. In order to overcome this limitation, the model was enhanced so that it could be viewed interactively, allowing the user to move the camera at will and thus consider a building's appearance from a range of vantage points. The paper provides a detailed account of the ways in which a view of a three-dimensional computer model is created. A number of interactive tools developed for the model are described, including the facility to add or delete landscape features such as trees, to switch between alternative schemes for a site, and to modify objects in the model. Finally, although the authors recognise that existing limitations of software and computer currently preclude the effective use of three-dimensional models on the Internet, it is anticipated that developments in these areas will result in an enhanced public participation in urban design.

The papers included in this issue represent the majority of those actually presented at the Conference. Most of them are on architecture, although variety is provided by the contributions which look at art historical issues. The combination of some papers concentrating on theory, and others on more practical applications, is typical of CHArt Conference programmes, covering the range of interests represented by both contributors and delegates.

The general theme of the built environment and architectural heritage is a departure from the more usual emphasis on art history and library subject matter, and illustrates the manner in which CHArt is catering for a broader audience and keeping up with the rapid development of computer-based technologies.