Traditional measured drawing vs advanced 3d scanning for the protection of cultural heritage: a research and teaching programme

This paper gives an account on the aims, methods and progress of the joint research developed by the ???Gabriele d???Annunzio??? University of Chieti ??? Pescara and the ???Ion Mincu??? University of Architecture and Urbanism of Bucharest, on the confrontation of traditional and recent digital techniques of investigation and survey of historic built structures, in view of their better understanding, interpretation and, ultimately, conservation. Of the several individual objects used as case studies within the research programme, two buildings were selected to support the present account: the late 17th century Palace of Constantin Brâncoveanu at Potlogi (Dâmbovi??a County) and the early 20th century Cantacuzino Palace at Flore??ti (Prahova County), both in Romania. The research on investigation and survey methods and techniques is part of a wider and sustained joint action of our architecture schools, developed over the past six years through alternate field- and studio workshops, organized both in Romania and Italy, on several monuments with different biography and pathology, involving mixed groups of Romanian and Italian students and faculty members. The teaching and research process is going through a number of phases, adapting to the specificity of each individual case, from field survey ??? including information gathering on morphology, structure, condition and active processes, but also on physical and social context ??? through critical analysis, to conservation planning. The two monuments chosen for the present contribution are very significant for one particular programme of the historic architecture of Wallachia, the noble residences, and are both well-known and featured in all important architecture histories. One of the palaces, the one in Potlogi, has undergone a major restoration led by an outstanding figure of Romanian architectural conservation, ??tefan Bal??, while the other palace, in Flore??ti, has had an unusual destiny, of perpetual ruination, which began before the building was even completed. The aims of research started from the need of an accurate and detailed knowledge of the buildings, to include a thorough architectural and structural description, and an extended account on the transformations ??? brought by subsequent interventions or by ruination ??? and processes of deterioration. Further, the need to devise the most appropriate representation methods was considered. Within the overall study programme, the approach of the two monuments also aimed at the discussion of conservation scenarios and plans, but these exceed the purpose of the present account. The investigation and survey methods applied included on-site direct analysis and discussion, and data gathering through traditional techniques (sketches, hand-measurements and drawings) and through advanced technologies (3d laser scanning, photogrammetry and unmanned aerial vehicle photography). The results of the new surveys are confronted with existing representations of the two buildings: pictures, artworks, photographs, and ??? firstly ??? measured drawings from previous documentation or restoration campaigns, featured in publications of kept in archives. By the joint use of traditional and advanced techniques and technologies, and by the confrontation with previous graphic documentation, the knowledge value of the exercise emerge: it provides exhaustive and highly accurate information on the physical state of the buildings and it allows a more extensive and better understanding of the structures, of their particular features and their history and transformations. Ultimately, such knowledge makes the premise for a good conservation project. The educational value of the exercise is no less important, as it allows the students to assess the different methods and techniques available, and to be able to plan accordingly in their future standing as practicing architects, possibly active in the field of research and conservation. A few of the participants to the workshops chose to continue this experience into their graduation projects. The planning of actual work on the two monuments, as in other cases studied within the joint Italian-Romanian workshops, comprised several steps, with a first one for the definition of working methods and selection of techniques, followed by one or more sessions of field work, for the acquisition of data and later by a series of working sessions for data processing and representation. At same time, a confrontation of previous graphic representations and the new comprehensive and detailed 3d models took place. Now we are in the final phase, of complex morphological analysis on the 3d models and other graphical materials, which has already brought up significant information, likely to enhance the understanding of the history of the two monuments, and, hopefully, to contribute to their effective conservation.