Experiences in Rapid, Economical Surveys of Monuments at the Escuela de Estudios Arabes

Abstract

Objective documentation of architecture is achievable through a combination of simple techniques. About eight years ago, I set up a photogrammetry laboratory to record architectural heritage for the Spanish Ministry of Culture; it was equipped with traditional photogrammetry instruments: large format metric cameras (Zeiss UMK and SMK) as well as analogical (Zeiss Topocart D) and analytical high precision plotters (Wild Aviolyt BC2). While the high-precision results were excellent, they were achieved at great cost. Later, in researching Islamic architecture on a limited budget, I used photogrammetry in company with simpler, less expensive techniques. CAD applications for personal computers enabled us to depict plans and perspectives and develop a data bank. We created software to converge on AutoCAD and used portable instruments and simple data taking.