Books by Elisabetta Caterina Giovannini
Knowledge representation in Architecture reports the state of data representation and knowledge p... more Knowledge representation in Architecture reports the state of data representation and knowledge production in architecture, reflecting on how information technology and data modelling affects digital acquisition, documentation, management and critical analysis of the architectural and archaeological heritage. The volume is an invitation to discuss the interdisciplinarity of approaches and methods from digital humanities and digital cultural heritage to shape and manage architectural representations and their multiple dimensions.
Papers by Elisabetta Caterina Giovannini
SCIRES-IT, 2025
The role of Extended Reality (XR) in education is growing within universities and offers valuable... more The role of Extended Reality (XR) in education is growing within universities and offers valuable research opportunities in interdisciplinary development. This contribution illustrates the didactic activity of the 2023/2024 seminar 'Inside the Museum', which utilises XR for communicating architectural design projects. The course integrates exhibit design with digital technologies in the museum sector and introduces students to open and web-based AR and VR tools. Students learn the fundamentals of HTML for developing applications using ar.js, and GitHub as a repository for teaching activities. The teaching staff collaborates in creating digital content for classroom exercises, fostering shared and guided learning through innovative teaching approaches. The digital assets developed aim to collect student design ideas and establish a replicable workflow for digital communication and representation in various disciplines.
Heritage, 2024
This paper uses digital approaches to investigate Priene's (Turkey) archaeological area. The city... more This paper uses digital approaches to investigate Priene's (Turkey) archaeological area. The city was built ex novo, after a catastrophic earthquake around 350 BC, on a new site facing the Mediterranean Sea. The city suffered a slow decline following centuries of development and was abandoned after the 12th century. The remains of Priene were discovered in the 17th century, and different excavations and studies have been conducted in the last few centuries. The city's remains have been studied from various archaeological and historical points of view. It is documented that the city suffered different earthquakes during its existence, as demonstrated by the partial restorations and damage patterns visible within the remains. This contribution offers a methodological and interdisciplinary approach for studying and enhancing archaeological heritage. This paper presents the preliminary results of the first comprehensive digital acquisition of the Aegean city of Priene. The digitization approaches here described focused on digital acquisition and 3D modeling restitution in the form of virtual reconstructions of two monumental buildings: the Doric Stoa near the Temple of Athena Polias and the Theater. The procedure was complementary to the analysis and comprehension of previous numerous studies carried out by British and German institutions, where digital acquisition and restitution techniques have led to the validation of previously obtained results. For the first time, digital models have been used as tools for accessing heterogeneous knowledge, and they have been incorporated into the discourse of archeological studies. Indeed, the interdisciplinary team went beyond archaeological data to attempt to digitally reconstruct monumental complexes and conduct preliminary structural evaluations scientifically.
Building Information Modeling, Data & Semantics - Dn, 2023
The paper addresses the topic of parametric modeling applied to the field of Historic Building In... more The paper addresses the topic of parametric modeling applied to the field of Historic Building Information Modeling (HBIM).The tools presented offer a possible answer to three-dimensional modeling problems in a BIM environment using different visual programming applications (VPLs) and their potential. Different solutions have been developed using diverse VPL applications depending on the input data type, whether unstructured or structured within a spreadsheet.
International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2023
The paper addresses the digital curation of immersive and virtual spaces for the cultural heritag... more The paper addresses the digital curation of immersive and virtual spaces for the cultural heritage sector. One of the research objectives is to define a methodological and operational workflow for developing a virtual environment designed using a social virtual environment. The use of social worlds in virtual reality (VR) is one of the possible entry points to the metaverse, understood as a way of experiencing digital reality. The possibility of creating a digital space that replicates real space offers not only the opportunity for people to gather in a virtual place but also allows designers to provide a parallel and augmented experience in terms of content.The case study aims to create the digital twin of the temporary Phygital Exhibition, which opened in July 2022 at the Sordevolo Passion Museum in the Church of Santa Marta. Unlike the permanent collection, which recounts the tradition of popular theatre in Sordevolo for the performance of the Passion of Christ, the Phygital Exhibition focuses on documenting the activity related to the design and construction of the scenography. In the virtual environment, the physical space is replicated with a low level of detail to emphasize the VR exhibition, composed of a series of panels with the possibility to interact with historical documentation, drawings, and pictures. The virtual space is also enriched by video and 3D models not available in real space, which documents the transformation of the scenography over the years.
Nexus Network Journal, 2023
The Book I of Andrea Palladio's "The Four Books on Architecture", in which, after a brief discour... more The Book I of Andrea Palladio's "The Four Books on Architecture", in which, after a brief discourse on the five orders and on those rules which are essential to building, private houses, streets, bridges, squares, xysti, and temples are discussed, contains the rules of Palladio's design. Over the years, many scholars have investigated how to make explicit the reasoning on the theory of architectural proportions in Palladio. A multitude of studies were done concerning five orders proportions and about the compositive rules of Villas. This ongoing research aims to make the treatise of Andrea Palladio explicit visually and mathematically by starting from his text and images. The study, at this stage, concentrates on proportional and graphical analysis for door's ornaments. The study made it possible to identify the molding elements' philological construction and the relationship between their geometric construction made up of alignments, recurring intervals, equal subdivisions, and successive partitions.
Nexus Network Journal, 2023
Book I of Andrea Palladio's I quattro libri dell'architettura, contains the rules of Palladio's d... more Book I of Andrea Palladio's I quattro libri dell'architettura, contains the rules of Palladio's design. Over the years, many scholars have investigated how to make explicit the reasoning behind the theory of architectural proportions in Palladio. The study addresses the parametric analysis for Stairs described in Chapter XXVIII.
ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 2022
In recent years we have been experiencing an ever-increasing number of Building Modeling Modeling... more In recent years we have been experiencing an ever-increasing number of Building Modeling Modeling (BIM) and Visual Programming Language (VPL) approaches in the architectural design field. These experiments have inspired new research strictly focused on exploring values, criticalities, and the advantages of applying these combined methodologies in the Cultural Heritage domain. This integrated approach has emphasized the benefits derived from HBIM. The next step is to critically evaluate the application of BIM and VPL processes used in the management and valorisation of museum heritage, pursuing both parametric and algorithmic approaches. The research group worked on building a model that shared the BIM hierarchical structure and the flexibility of the VPL methodologies. Semi-automatic procedures were developed within a rigorous BIM workflow, with the help of Autodesk and McNeel tools, to show and manage complex museum management phenomena. These procedures aimed to respond to three different objectives. First, the need to associate information from the Facility Report to the individual BIM components to predict and monitor the conditions in which museum collections are found. Second, the intention to measure the attractiveness of the artifacts within the exhibition project and the design effects for a correct prefiguration of visitor flows. Third, the elements involved included the exhibition area obtained from an HBIM model (converted into a visual field through interoperable processes), the digitized collections (the attractive elements), the users and, finally, the numerical evaluation of the visibility of specific objects within collections by simulating the human point of view. Once automated, the devised procedures can be considered a prototype to support curators in controlling and improving the efficiency of the exhibition layout.
AGATHÓN – International Journal of Architecture, Art and Design, 2021
This paper dwells on the many meanings the digital artefacts can have, their value and their repl... more This paper dwells on the many meanings the digital artefacts can have, their value and their replicability. It presents some critical and methodological thoughts on the use of digital tools in the museums. Using consolidated taxonomies and redefining the digital tools to be innovatively applied to Cultural Assets, the essay describes some research experiences carried out over the last years. From the creation of virtual reconstructions of the past, to the opportunity to work on virtual models, operating on informative stratification not perceptible by simply observing the collection’s item and avoiding its evolution into a simple repetition of the perceptual experience of the real object.
Abitare la Terra - Dwelling on Earth / Quaderni 6, 2020
International Archives of the Photogrammetry Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2021
The term "cultural heritage" has been enriched with multiple contents in the last decades, partly... more The term "cultural heritage" has been enriched with multiple contents in the last decades, partly thanks to the protection instruments developed by UNESCO. Despite the past, the cultural heritage is not limited to monuments and collections of objects. The term nowadays includes tangible and intangible cultural heritage (ICH). ICH includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts. Within this context, the Museum of "Passione di Sordevolo" preserves and spreads the cultural and social value of the largest representation of popular Christian theatre in Italy, called "La Passione di Sordevolo". The paper presents the results of the research of the reconstructive modelling and visual storytelling project called "Digital historical scenic design". The project explores the use of digital technologies to create new content compatible with the Museum's mission: dissemination, communication and valorization of the documentary heritage (photographs, sketches, drawings) and the systematic collection of the oral tradition of this theatrical tradition.
Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., 2021
The proposed research aims at a comparison of the main historical surveys conducted on the Porta ... more The proposed research aims at a comparison of the main historical surveys conducted on the Porta Palatina by different authors, with the data of a current digital survey. Through a work of redrawing and superimposition of information deducted from historical drawings, the analysis will highlight the consistency, discrepancies and inconsistencies of these drawings compared to the current state of the artefact. Therefore, the instrumental survey, necessary for the subsequent stages of graphical analysis, was carried out using photogrammetric techniques and Metashape software. The drawings taken into consideration for this work are those by Sangallo (1494–1497 ca.), by Palladio (1566 ca.), by Promis (1869) and by D'Andrade (1883): they constitute a very interesting documentary heritage, although heterogeneous, in which qualitative drawings (Sangallo), scaled drawings (D'Andrade), measured drawings (in vicentine’s feet for Palladio, in meters for Promis) alternate.
International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2021
The paper presents DECAI - DEcay Classification using Artificial Intelligence, a novel study usin... more The paper presents DECAI - DEcay Classification using Artificial Intelligence, a novel study using machine learning algorithms to identify materials, degradations or surface gaps of an architectural artefact in a semi-automatic way. A customised software has been developed to allow the operator to choose which categories of materials to classify, and selecting sample data from an orthophoto of the artefact to train the machine learning algorithms. Thanks to Visual Programming Language algorithms, the classification results are directly imported into the H-BIM environment and used to enrich the H-BIM model of the artefact. To date, the developed tool is dedicated to research use only; future developments will improve the graphical interface to make this tool accessible to a wider public.
IMG Journal, 2021
The essay aims to analyse past and present methods of reality simulation critically. It proposes ... more The essay aims to analyse past and present methods of reality simulation critically. It proposes a non-exhaustive classification of 2D and 3D digital artefacts mainly concerning the cultural heritage field and the museum domain, ranging from reconstructing virtual environments to the most recent computer graphics trends. Moreover, the use of digital copies, sometimes accompanied by their 3D prints, was complementary to the original artefacts’ vision. Starting from some well-known examples of the past up to the most recent artefacts produced in recent years, the contribution of reality simulation methods intends to reflect the different meanings that the copy can take other than its economic value. Value is not easily measurable. It refers to culture and new opportunities for dissemination.
Building Information Modeling, Data & Semantics - Dn, 2021
The essay critically evaluates the application fields of BIM and VPL processes used in the manage... more The essay critically evaluates the application fields of BIM and VPL processes used in the management and valorisation of museum heritage, pursuing parametric and algorithmic approaches, successfully employed in the digitisation project of the temporary exhibition Invisible Archaeology set up in the exhibition spaces of the Museo Egizio of Turin.
Building Information Modeling, Data & Semantics - Dn, 2020
In the last decade, the discipline of architectural representation has investigated the possibili... more In the last decade, the discipline of architectural representation has investigated the possibilities offered by Building Information Modelling (BIM) methodologies applied to historical heritage (HBIM). In recent years, the emerging use of Visual Programming Language (VPL) based software is bridging the gap between threedimensional modelling and information modelling through the use of algorithms that can be customized and made public also thanks to interoperable data formats.
The study presents a workflow developed in VPL environment to create a semi-automatic degradation map. The proposed machine learning algorithms allow generating new components starting from the acquisition data of a survey and the subsequent data processing. The proposed solution offers an innovative solution for the classification and semi-automatic creation of degradation elements that provides the association between geometries derived from 3D mesh and the information apparatus associated with them.
Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2020
The paper presents different experiences developed at the Department of Architecture and Design o... more The paper presents different experiences developed at the Department of Architecture and Design of Politecnico di Torino in collaboration with Fondazione Museo delle Antichità Egizie in Turin, Italy. These research offered interesting suggestions for working on the crucial relationship between content (collection) and container (museum) through shared and interoperable digital workflows. In the B.A.C.K. TO T.H.E. F.U.T.U.RE. project the research emphatise the role of artworks, that are characterized by intangible and historical values. Artworks are also connected with eterogeneous documentary heritage that enlighted the need of creating new narratives avoiding the descriptive and analytical ones. The project offers a workflow that using different vocabularies (database and open data) is able to structure data and use visual media (3d web publishing) to create different degree of accessibility to cultural heritage content. The recently launched SMART MUSEUM research, works on automated procedures to show, through graphics, the complex phenomena triggered by the attractive weight of the collections. In this case, the artwork assumes artistic, social and media values that contribute to create novel attributes able to identify an attractive weight of the artwork. These value affects the attractiveness of an artwork within the exhibition project and can be an interesting subject for a correct foreshadowing of visitor flows. The involved elements are the exhibition area (the graphic field), the collection (the attractive elements) and the users. The conceived procedure, once automated, becomes a prototype to support the curators to control and improve the efficiency of the exhibition layout.
International Archives of the Photogrammetry Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2020
The paper presents a practical approach to define a hypothetical virtual reconstruction of the ci... more The paper presents a practical approach to define a hypothetical virtual reconstruction of the ciborium and pergola of Monte Sorbo's Church. The high accuracy of archaeological fragments, digitally acquired, allowed to hypothesize the entire sequences of decorations of architectural elements and to define their geometrical rules. Starting from the acquisition to the 3d modelling phase, the proposed virtual reconstruction combines original fragments with their lost parts modelled in a digital environment. Digital technologies offer nowadays the great possibility to visualize and understand cultural heritage in a new and attractive way. Digital models and virtual reconstructions have a key role in encouraging and promoting the development of good practices for recording, documenting, and making accessible scientific processes beyond visual appearance. The term virtual reconstruction, within the project, is used to describe a procedure that consists of making a 3D model that reproduces a digital copy of the original, assembling digitally acquired fragments with elements philologically reconstructed following the evidence-based geometrical rules. This study aims to contribute to this growing area of research by exploring possibilities on digital integration of different 3d models to redefine a visual appearance of lost architectural elements.
DISEGNARECON, 2019
The paper presents the fi nal outcome of a project carried out through the collabora on between P... more The paper presents the fi nal outcome of a project carried out through the collabora on between Poli-tecnico di Torino and Museo Egizio of Turin. The main aim of the project has been to make available a small series of artefacts that are part of the museum collec on through their virtual reproduc on. The research inves gates procedures that are used for the dissemina on of cultural heritage in museum context. This prac ces and the use of media and the web for dissemina on purposes became part of a contemporary digital ecosystem that involves heritage ins tu ons and museums. The paper describes the workfl ows used to develop diff erent kind of outputs using the same content, and how it is possible to reuse digital resources for the communica on and the visua-lisa on of cultural heritage in an a rac ve way through the use of the latest visualisa on technologies and web applica ons. The fi nal stage of the proposed research, in ad-Keywords: Collec on Informa on Modeling; Virtual Reality ; Immersive experience; Museum collec on; Egypt di on to the others already developed solu on, consists on an edutainment web applica on that assists the user in the discovery of historical ico-nography associated with digital models, with the intent to educate on the understanding of the drawn space and to visualise some contents of the Museo Egizio of Turin: the 'Expedi on models of Egyp an Architecture'. The digital ecosystem developed for the project consists on a set of digital data of historical docu-menta on and the digital replica of the museum collec on: a set of wood maque es represen ng ancient Egyp an buildings. The task, carried out in collabora on with the VHLab, CNR ISPC (Is tuto di Scienze del Patrimo-nio Culturale), allows to narrate the mee ng of two diff erent cultures, cultural ins tu ons and science of representa on, crea ng a new reasoned storytelling. Architecture and Design DAD since 2018. PhD in Architecture, her interests are related to the disciplines of drawing, survey and representation of architecture. She investigates on the use of ontologies, semantics and BIM platforms to manage cultural heritage.
ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2019
The paper describes part of the conceptual structure produced within the still ongoing project B.... more The paper describes part of the conceptual structure produced within the still ongoing project B.A.C.K. TO T.H.E. F.U.T.U.RE. (BIM Acquisition as Cultural Key TO Transfer Heritage of ancient Egypt For many Uses To many Users REplayed). The aim of the project was to use a semantic web infrastructure to describe archival research and tracking informations related to a hidden museum collection 'expedition models of Egyptian architecture' partially stored in the depots of the Museo Egizio of Turin. The outcome will be an interactive web-presentation portal of high-resolution 3D models enriched by historical and archival set of content, from the digitization procedure applied to collection objects, to the digitization process of related data and information. The development of the collection documentation of the project illustrates how is crucial to declare the semantic description underlying narrative contents. Data about single collection objects were conceptually modelled using generalizable formulas already known by CIDOC-CRM community. The description of provenance of knowledge related to the historical investigation process was modelled using CRMinf extension, exploring the possibility of making beliefs based on the available documentation and validating the results of the assumptions made during the research.
Uploads
Books by Elisabetta Caterina Giovannini
Papers by Elisabetta Caterina Giovannini
The study presents a workflow developed in VPL environment to create a semi-automatic degradation map. The proposed machine learning algorithms allow generating new components starting from the acquisition data of a survey and the subsequent data processing. The proposed solution offers an innovative solution for the classification and semi-automatic creation of degradation elements that provides the association between geometries derived from 3D mesh and the information apparatus associated with them.