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Remote Sensing
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Application of GIS, BIM and Linked Digitisations in Urban Heritage
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Application of GIS, BIM and Linked Digitisations in Urban Heritage

A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Urban Remote Sensing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (3 August 2023) | Viewed by 20670

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maurice Murphy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Virtual Building Lab, Dublin, Ireland
Interests: building information modelling; architecture; laser scanning; digital surveying
Dr. Garrett Keenaghan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dublin School of Architecture, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Interests: construction; building information modelling; mapping; building
Dr. Eimear Meegan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Virtual Building Lab, Dublin, Ireland
Interests: digital archaeology
Dr. Simona Scandurra

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Polimi, Italy
Interests: building information modelling; architecture; laser scanning; digital surveying
Mr. Anthony Corns

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Discovery Programme, Dublin, Ireland
Interests: cultural heritage; spatial analysis; mapping; geomatics; satellite image analysis; digital mapping
Mr. Alain Chenaux

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Construction, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Interests: GIS; digital surveying; geomatics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Digitisation and virtual reconstruction of urban heritage potentially connects its tangible and intangible cultural assets as a central digital repository and portal. Within this context, the intelligent digital representation of architectural heritage, archaeology, and objects allow for multiple user scenarios ranging from engineering conservation to education and knowledge extraction in addition to object visualisation. The stages for digitisation of urban heritage begin with remote sensing and data capturing technologies of terrestrial and aerial laser scanning, GPS, and digital photogrammetry. The resultant survey data is enhanced with new methods for 3D modelling of historic buildings based on geographic information systems (GIS) and building information modelling (BIM) for intelligent virtual representation of historic environments. To allow for open access, system architecture designs for data management and dissemination are now being considered based on game engine platforms and Oracle and PostgreSQL spatial databases which are used for managing large datasets.

At a city scale, 2D GIS is now being replaced by 3D spatial data allowing more complex analysis to be carried out. 3D GIS can define and depict buildings as well as urban and rural centres in relation to their geometry and topological and visualisation properties. The addition of semantic attributes allows for the complex analysis and 3D spatial queries for modelling city and urban elements. This analysis includes fabric and structural elements of buildings, relief, vegetation, transportation, water bodies, city furniture, and land use. Historic building information modelling (HBIM), like heritage GIS, can encompass data capture of existing structures and sites followed by mapping of parametric and information-rich objects onto a geometric framework developed from survey data. By adding information and knowledge as semantic attributes to remotely sensed survey data at a building scale, the digital objects move from static representations to dynamic, interactive, and ‘smart’ models. The resultant historic BIM can then be used for information and knowledge extraction in addition to visualisation.

Game engine platforms allow a low-cost method of making intelligent models and linked data more easily accessible to users. It is the nature of interactive videogame applications to be quickly intuitive to the user upon assuming controls. A packaged ‘game file’ is designed to be executed in a standalone fashion, requiring no additional proprietary software to be installed on the end-users’ computer system. Current mainstream industry packages include Unity3D and the Unreal Engine, which allow for highly developed workflows and community support, but recent game engine software holds promise for greater interoperability with BIM and GIS.

Oracle and PostgreSQL spatial databases are used for managing large datasets. The storage of spatial data in addition to GIS Spatial datasets consist of those which are directly or indirectly referenced to a location on the surface of the earth and to non-spatial data. Spatial databases now include vector data which include three geometric primitive types and geometries, 2D point and point cluster, 2D line strings, and 2D N-point polygons. PostgreSQL is an open source, object-relational database management system which can be extended to handle 2D and 3D spatial data using an extension called PostGIS.

As a multidisciplinary and evolving area of research, researchers from computing, architecture, archaeology, engineering, and other heritage areas are improving the process for creating more open and efficient systems. It is essential to incorporate these within design frameworks of international principles concerning authenticity, integrity, and philosophical approaches such as those promoted in ICOMOS Charters and UNESCO Recommendations.

Dr. Maurice Murphy
Dr. Garrett Keenaghan
Dr. Eimear Meegan
Dr. Simona Scandurra
Mr. Anthony Corns
Mr. Alain Chenaux
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Remote Sensing is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • urban heritage
  • historic city modelling
  • heritage GIS
  • historic BIM
  • 3D modelling
  • city GML
  • PostgreSQL/PostGIS
  • game engines
  • digital surveying
  • laser scanning
  • automatic point cloud segmentation
  • object recognition
  • BIM/GIS ontologies
  • shape grammars and procedural modelling
  • digital photogrammetry
  • SFM
  • historic structures
  • building conservation
  • architectural conservation
  • virtual cultural heritage
  • conservation urban climate action

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

38 pages, 17568 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Characteristics and Ideas of Ancient Urban Land-Use Based on GIS and an Algorithm: A Case Study of Chang’an City in the Sui and Tang Dynasties
by Siliang Chen, Yue Dong, Xiangyu Chen, Xinyue Xu and Jiangbo Gong
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(12), 2962; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15122962 - 6 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2391
Abstract
As ancient cities are spaces that represent the development of civilization, it is worth exploring and studying their characteristics and conceptions of land use. In this regard, the focus has turned to the issue of how to achieve the efficient mining of massive [...] Read more.
As ancient cities are spaces that represent the development of civilization, it is worth exploring and studying their characteristics and conceptions of land use. In this regard, the focus has turned to the issue of how to achieve the efficient mining of massive urban remote sensing data through human–computer collaboration. In this paper, a new intelligent method of analyzing urban land use characteristics and their cultural significance is proposed; it is feasible, effective, accurate, manageable, and portable. The method is based on a geographic information system (GIS) and a specific algorithm. The city plan was calibrated with the help of satellite remote sensing images and sites. By constructing the “urban element area acquisition and analysis model”, various operations for areas in the city plan were realized, including an area value calculation, land use structure calculation, area modulus analysis, area ratio analysis between areas, and determination of the cultural significance of numbers and ratios. Taking the Sui and Tang dynasties capital city of Chang’an as an example, we found the existence of a set of urban planning techniques through area modulus (standard area units) for the first time; it took the market area as the modulus A and the area of Daxing Palace as the expanded modulus 2A, made the area of important areas in the city an integer multiplied by the modulus value (for example, the overall scope of the city is 100A, the rectangular urban area is 90A, and the small city area is 10A), and made the key values and numerical ratios have a cultural significance (such as 4.5, 5.5, 10, 25, 30, 100, 12:10, 1.618:1, 9:5, 45:1, 2:1), reflecting the planning and design concept of the capital city, into which the ancient Chinese deliberately integrated “number, shape and meaning”. In addition, we carried out supplementary verification with the Roman city of Timgad and the Japanese city of Heijo-kyo, discovering that they also have design methods for area planning. We believe that land use planning can better meet the practical needs of urban resource distribution. Compared with urban form design, it might have chronological precedence. By setting the area modulus and the modulus value of each area, the grid-shaped city achieves the rational distribution of land and the establishment of order in an efficient way, and this thought and operation method greatly contributed to the advancement of ancient civilizations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of GIS, BIM and Linked Digitisations in Urban Heritage)
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22 pages, 36773 KiB  
Article
Giving Historical Photographs a New Perspective: Introducing Camera Orientation Parameters as New Metadata in a Large-Scale 4D Application
by Ferdinand Maiwald, Jonas Bruschke, Danilo Schneider, Markus Wacker and Florian Niebling
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(7), 1879; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15071879 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2045
Abstract
The ongoing digitization of historical photographs in archives allows investigating the quality, quantity, and distribution of these images. However, the exact interior and exterior camera orientations of these photographs are usually lost during the digitization process. The proposed method uses content-based image retrieval [...] Read more.
The ongoing digitization of historical photographs in archives allows investigating the quality, quantity, and distribution of these images. However, the exact interior and exterior camera orientations of these photographs are usually lost during the digitization process. The proposed method uses content-based image retrieval (CBIR) to filter exterior images of single buildings in combination with metadata information. The retrieved photographs are automatically processed in an adapted structure-from-motion (SfM) pipeline to determine the camera parameters. In an interactive georeferencing process, the calculated camera positions are transferred into a global coordinate system. As all image and camera data are efficiently stored in the proposed 4D database, they can be conveniently accessed afterward to georeference newly digitized images by using photogrammetric triangulation and spatial resection. The results show that the CBIR and the subsequent SfM are robust methods for various kinds of buildings and different quantity of data. The absolute accuracy of the camera positions after georeferencing lies in the range of a few meters likely introduced by the inaccurate LOD2 models used for transformation. The proposed photogrammetric method, the database structure, and the 4D visualization interface enable adding historical urban photographs and 3D models from other locations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of GIS, BIM and Linked Digitisations in Urban Heritage)
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22 pages, 31529 KiB  
Article
Laser Scanning and Ambient Vibration Study of Juma Mosque in Khiva (Uzbekistan) with Subsequent Finite Element Modeling of Its Minaret
by Shakhzod Takhirov, Bakhodir Rakhmonov, Ravshanbek Nafasov, Abbos Samandarov and Sevara Sultanova
Remote Sens. 2023, 15(6), 1632; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15061632 - 17 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1895
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a multiyear program conducted in Khiva, by a research team from the University of California, Berkeley (USA) and Urgench State University, Urgench (Uzbekistan). It was focused on the Juma (Djuma) Mosque in Itchan Kala (Khiva, Uzbekistan). The [...] Read more.
This paper presents the results of a multiyear program conducted in Khiva, by a research team from the University of California, Berkeley (USA) and Urgench State University, Urgench (Uzbekistan). It was focused on the Juma (Djuma) Mosque in Itchan Kala (Khiva, Uzbekistan). The main objective was to generate a digital twin of the mosque, with an accuracy of a few millimeters, by utilizing a laser scanner. The idea of a digital twin was expanded further, to ensure that the physical properties and structural response of the digital twin were closely correlated to that of the actual object. To achieve this objective, the following was conducted. First, a laser scanning of the historic monument was conducted. The laser scans were collected by a terrestrial laser scanner. Subsequently, a study of the monument’s structural response was conducted in ambient vibration tests that focused on measuring the resonant frequencies of the mosque’s minaret. Based on all of the information collected during both field studies, a sophisticated finite element model of the minaret was developed. The calibration of the model was based on the results of the ambient vibration study. The performance of the model was shown to be close to that of the actual monument. The digital twin and associated numerical model will be used in structural health monitoring, numerical predictions of the structural performance, and in the development of restoration strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of GIS, BIM and Linked Digitisations in Urban Heritage)
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28 pages, 18224 KiB  
Article
Resolving the Urban Dilemma of Two Adjacent Rivers through a Dialogue between GIS and Augmented Reality (AR) of Fabrics
by Naai-Jung Shih and Yu-Huan Qiu
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(17), 4330; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14174330 - 1 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1896
Abstract
Keelung Harbor, which is the most important center of sea freight in northern Taiwan, suffers from deteriorating urban development due to limited land supply. A dilemma arose from the Asahikawa River and the Tianliao River fronts, which evolved from cultural landscapes to buried [...] Read more.
Keelung Harbor, which is the most important center of sea freight in northern Taiwan, suffers from deteriorating urban development due to limited land supply. A dilemma arose from the Asahikawa River and the Tianliao River fronts, which evolved from cultural landscapes to buried and truncated rivers. This research was aimed at resolving the urban dilemma of the two adjacent rivers through a dialogue between the physical and augmented interaction of fabrics in three scenarios: GIS to AR, AR to GIS, and both. The physical dynamics were used to trace development chronologically by the area and length assessed from historical maps of hydrogeography, architecture, and the railroad. The augmented dynamics involved AR-based simulations and comparisons in terms of skyline overlay, fabric substitution, and fabric disposition. The dynamics involved AR models made by UAV images and 3D drawings. The assessments and simulations determined the key event in Keelung history when the Asahikawa River was leveled up. The dilemma verified from the augmented dynamics facilitated comprehension of the evolvement of the physical dynamics. With the assistance of AR and GIS, we concluded that the specific instance of riverfront reconstruction was an important landmark of meta-relationship. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of GIS, BIM and Linked Digitisations in Urban Heritage)
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23 pages, 7070 KiB  
Article
An HBIM Methodology for the Accurate and Georeferenced Reconstruction of Urban Contexts Surveyed by UAV: The Case of the Castle of Charles V
by Anna Sanseverino, Barbara Messina, Marco Limongiello and Caterina Gabriella Guida
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(15), 3688; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14153688 - 1 Aug 2022
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2428
Abstract
The potentialities of the use of the UAV survey as a base for the generation of the context mesh are illustrated through the experiments on the case study, the Crotone Fortress, proposing a systematic general methodology and two procedural workflows for the importation [...] Read more.
The potentialities of the use of the UAV survey as a base for the generation of the context mesh are illustrated through the experiments on the case study, the Crotone Fortress, proposing a systematic general methodology and two procedural workflows for the importation of the triangulated model, maintaining its real geographical coordinates, in the Autodesk Revit environment through a Dynamo Visual Programming script [VPL]. First, the texturisation of the mesh of the urban context was experimented with, using the real-sized photogrammetric orthoimage as Revit material; therefore, the reproduction of the discretised detailed areas of the urban context was tested. They were imported via Dynamo by reading the coordinates of the vertices of every single face that constitutes the triangulated model and associating to each of them the corresponding real colorimetric data. Starting from the georeferenced context of the photogrammetric mesh, nine federated BIM models were produced: the general context models, the detailed models and the architectural model of the fortress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of GIS, BIM and Linked Digitisations in Urban Heritage)
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16 pages, 2537 KiB  
Article
Assessing Railway Landscape by AHP Process with GIS: A Study of the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway
by Kun Sang, Giovanni Luigi Fontana and Silvia Elena Piovan
Remote Sens. 2022, 14(3), 603; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14030603 - 27 Jan 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4248
Abstract
Landscape quality is a crucial factor for the heritage attractiveness of tourism, allowing tourists to experience both natural and cultural aspects along railway journeys. Moreover, railway landscape is a comprehensive system that defines the landscape observed and perceived by passengers and is characterized [...] Read more.
Landscape quality is a crucial factor for the heritage attractiveness of tourism, allowing tourists to experience both natural and cultural aspects along railway journeys. Moreover, railway landscape is a comprehensive system that defines the landscape observed and perceived by passengers and is characterized by the diversity and continuity of the train’s movement. Yunnan-Vietnam railway (YVR) heritage is the research object of this research, whose area encompasses various landscape types and heritage sites, providing great landscape enjoyment. Currently, the assessment methods specifically for railway landscape have been discussed less than for other landscape types, especially for a series of large linear sites like the YVR. To evaluate the value of railway heritage landscape along the railway, this paper proposes a methodology combining the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Delphi method, and GIS as an integrated spatial assessment. Creatively, this paper seeks to: (1) discuss the relationship between railway and landscape; (2) build a comprehensive evaluation system for the railway heritage landscape, covering the topics of history, tourism, ecology, heritage, social-culture, and visual quality; (3) quantify the landscape value of the YVR areas. Thus, the results of this research can be useful to future urban planning, development, and policymaking. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of GIS, BIM and Linked Digitisations in Urban Heritage)
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Graphical abstract

23 pages, 17930 KiB  
Article
Characterisation of the Historic Urban Landscape through the Aristotelian Four Causes: Towards Comprehensive GIS Databases
by Rafael Ramírez Eudave and Tiago Miguel Ferreira
Remote Sens. 2021, 13(10), 1879; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13101879 - 11 May 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4069
Abstract
The Historic Urban Landscape provides a basis to comprehensively study the city, considering the numerous agents and stakeholders involved in the urban phenomenon. However, the characterisation of the city is challenging, due to the numerous ways of reading and using the city. Although [...] Read more.
The Historic Urban Landscape provides a basis to comprehensively study the city, considering the numerous agents and stakeholders involved in the urban phenomenon. However, the characterisation of the city is challenging, due to the numerous ways of reading and using the city. Although several theoretical approaches address the process of documenting the city, there is still a gap related to the design of a generalised, holistic, and comprehensive framework. This article aims to contribute to this purpose by discussing the concept of the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) and its implications for the characterisation of the urban phenomena. The Aristotelian theory of the causes is proposed here as a suitable approach for the description, characterisation, and analysis of virtually any entity by first discussing its theoretical basis and then testing it in a real building located in the historical city, Guimarães, Portugal. A set of tools related to Geographic Information System databases are comprehensively explored during the implementation process of the approach, allowing to identify and discuss a set of limitations, challenges, and opportunities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of GIS, BIM and Linked Digitisations in Urban Heritage)
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