Terrestrial laser scanning for heritage conservation: the Cologne Cathedral documentation project

• Main Authors: D. Pritchard, J. Sperner, S. Hoepner, R. Tenschert
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2017-08-01
• Series: ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
• Online Access: https://www.isprs-ann-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/IV-2-W2/213/2017/isprs-annals-IV-2-W2-213-2017.pdf

Contemporary terrestrial laser scanners and photogrammetric imaging systems are an invaluable tool in providing objectively precise, as-built records of existing architectural, engineering and industrial sites. The comprehensive three-dimensional (3D) recording of culturally important sites such as heritage buildings, monuments, and sites can serve a variety of invaluable purposes; the data can assist in the conservation, management, and repair of a structure, as well as provide a visually engaging educational resource for both the public and scholars. The acquired data acts as a form of digital preservation, a timeless virtual representation of the as-built structure. The technical capability of these systems is particularly suited for the documentation of a richly articulated and detailed building such as the high Gothic Cologne Cathedral.<br><br> The 3D documentation of the Cologne Cathedral UNESCO World Heritage Site is a multiphase project developed by Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh in partnership with the Fresenius University of Applied Sciences, Cologne, and the Metropolitankapitel der Hohen Domkirche Köln Dombauhütte. The project has also received generous support from Zoller + Fröhlich (Z+F) and the City of Cologne.