11th EAEA Envisioning Architecture: Design, Evaluation, Communication Conference in 2013

Track 3 | Conceptual Representation | Exploring the layout of the built environment

Visualising "Genius Loci" of built heritage

ABSTRACT

A holistic view on the city was shaped under the influence of such fundamental works as the “Image of the city” by Kevin Lynch, or “Genius loci” by Christan Norberg-Schulz. Especially the latter publication defined the identity of places as a resultant of a number of factors, including intangible values, which allowed better understanding of the complexity and richness of the city phenomenon. Similar assumptions laid foundation for the recommendation on the protection of the historic urban landscape (HUL) adopted during the UNESCO General Conference in 2011.
The above-mentioned issues are crucial for visualising built heritage, since not only shapes and dimensions are responsible for the proper understanding of the place. The intangible values are also of great importance. This is the main topic of the paper, which aims at presenting various methods and techniques in reconstructing and representing heritage buildings and areas. This is illustrated by case studies, based on the professional and didactic experience of authors. In particular, traditional hand-drawing techniques and computer-based visualisation methods are compared.
Despite the adopted technique the most important seems not only to achieve certain level of accuracy but also to reflect; genius loci” of represented site. The both issues have to be well-balanced to achieve sustainable and satisfactory result.

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AUTHORS

Anetta Kepczynska-Walczak

Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning, Lodz University of Technology, Lodz, Poland

Head of the Computer Aided Design Unit at the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning, Lodz University of Technology. A member of the program council and a lecturer of the Postgraduate Studies in Conservation of Historic Built Structures at the Lodz University of Technology. In 2004 she defended a doctoral thesis "A model proposal for digitisation and recording data on architectural heritage in Poland based on European guidelines and best practices" at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. At the National Heritage Board of Poland she served as Representative Director for the Implementation of National Heritage Database, acted in the council for the implementation of the INSPIRE Directive in Poland and also acquired and coordinated a project CARARE funded under FP7.

Bartosz Walczak

Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning, Lodz University of Technology, Lodz, Poland

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