The use of technology has become vital in the documentation and conservation of heritage, especially in difficult or urgent circumstances. After many landmarks of the historic city of Palmyra were destroyed during Syria's war in 2015, conservators built three-dimensional digital models of the destroyed city to aid its future reconstruction. The destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan in 2001 with very little prior documentation prompted action in the documentation of vulnerable monuments, such as the establishment of CyArk. More recently, detailed digital surveys and a heritage BIM model were essential in the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris after it was devastated by fire in 2019.
One of the digital tools used in these initiatives is photogrammetry. Put simply, photogrammetry is the process of obtaining measured information from photographs. Although it traces its origin to the nineteenth century, its use has been enhanced with the use of software and digital photography, with tools available to convert multiple photographs of an object or building into a three-dimensional model. These can include detailed color information capturing a lifelike appearance of the physical object. Drone footage can even be used to build context models in a fraction of the time to conduct surveys. Thus, it is an invaluable tool for conservators, archaeologists, and architects.
Over time, the technology has become increasingly accessible. Combined with mobile phones, for example, it is possible to document heritage sites without large or sophisticated equipment and still achieve remarkable results. This was seen in the work of Deir ez-Zor Heritage Library where documentation of the historic city was primarily undertaken using mobile phones. The security conditions did not allow for the transport of large cameras or scanning equipment, so the team had to rely on simple tools.
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Somali Architecture Students Digitally Preserve Their Country's Heritage—Before It's Too LateThis availability has prompted many independent groups to take documentation and conservation into their own hands. Mogasam is a project initiated by architect Karim Fouad in Cairo, Egypt. After a time in the UK where he completed his studies at the Architecture Association, he set up Mogasam in 2022 as a method of reconnecting with his home city. Initially, the focus was on simple items - traditional objects and antiques, doors, and parts of façades. This expanded to a study of lesser-known historic buildings, ones that are not listed as heritage assets or with much documentation. In Islamic Cairo, there has been a study on 'spolia', or the use of reclaimed stones from historic buildings. In this case, stones from Egypt's Pharaonic age could be seen embedded in much later buildings from the medieval period.
With a building boom underway in Cairo, Mogasam identified a risk to undocumented historic buildings. Avoiding the complex process of obtaining surveying equipment and permissions for its use, mobile phone photography and photogrammetry software became invaluable tools for the documentation of buildings under threat. According to Karim Fouad, the fact that some of those buildings studied ended up being demolished highlighted the importance of the project. Thus, a library of three-dimensional digital models is underway with the intention of making it accessible to all.
There are also circumstances, however, where even the use of small equipment such as mobile phones is not possible. In areas of active conflict, there is a reliance on collecting previously captured photographs, reviewing existing drawings, and sifting through archives. The Modern Sudan Collective (MSC), an independent, voluntary initiative of architects and researchers, has been studying the twentieth-century cinemas of Sudan. With the capital, Khartoum, still engulfed in conflict at the time of writing, it has not been possible to reach the sites let alone conduct any photography.
Sudanese cinemas occupy a distinct place in the country's architectural history. The first one was built during colonial times near the army barracks for British soldiers in 1934. It was an open-air theatre, a design that set the trend for the next few decades of cinema construction. By the late 1970s, most neighborhoods in the capital and many towns across the country had a cinema. These performed not just as movie theatres, connecting audiences with productions made locally and internationally, but also as arenas for concerts and social events. They were very large, seating thousands of people, and had sleek designs reminiscent of Art Deco or Modernism. A coup d'etat in 1989 brought a hardline government that clamped down on cinemas, such that most of them lay derelict by the 2010s. Even attempts to revive them were in vain, as documented in the film Talking About Trees.
Thus, when the team at MSC started documenting them, they had long been out of service and their role as a vital social amenity was a distant memory. On top of that, the war which started in 2023 made accessing most of the cinemas in Khartoum impossible. The cinemas had seldom been researched or surveyed, apart from a handful, such as Al Safia Cinema. Where possible, this information was gathered, but in most cases, historic and recent photographs had to be used to construct digital models using photogrammetry tools. The information was eventually used to build BIM models.
Photogrammetry and other digital tools can therefore offer valuable opportunities for documentation in circumstances where previously it was simply not possible. Its reliance on small equipment was necessary for the Deir ez-Zour Heritage Library, while the spontaneity it afforded enabled the work of Mogasam. Its ability to synthesize models from previously captured photographs became a lifeline for extreme circumstances where access was limited, such as with the work of the Modern Sudan Collective.
