Summary
The TBE Technologie team performed the 3D scanning of the monument-church using a self-calibrating high precision 3D scanner, Trimble X7. The outcome of the patrimony digitizing project consisted in achieving a 3D model as close to reality and as thorough as possible, in so far as the software used for the three-dimensional blueprints allowed.
Evangelical Church Teaca
In the middle of Teaca town, in Bistrița-Năsăud, we often pass, in a hurry, by an old majestic building, with a memorable tower, coming off a once upon a time fairy-tale. It is the Evangelical Church Teaca, which has been guarding the town since the second half of the XIVth century. Included in the Historical Monuments list of the Ministry of Culture, the basilica has preserved so far many elements specific to the gothic architectural style, but also to the Saxon community that built it, being a genuine historical monument. (source: Daniela Marcu Istrate – “The Evangelical church in Teaca, Bistriţa Năsăud County. Archaeological investigations”).
In a world in a continuous run towards change, what allows us to discover our sense of identity and cultural continuity, but the desire to protect the architectural patrimony and to preserve it untouched for future generations?
Monument’s architecture
The church is a basilica consisting of three aisles, a choir and a polygonal apse with buttresses. The western facade complements the architectural style with an imposing bell tower. Although the outer side does not betray its age, inside, the structure is supported with wooden beams, traces of restoration works, begun and stopped. Its complex architecture hinders the access for study, as well as the assessment possibilities for enforcing a restoration design.
When we decided to enrich the service range of TBE Technologie with a state-of-the-art solution, we took into account the main aspect: to integrate a means of gathering, fast and easily, data on old and existing buildings.
How did we manage it? By Scan-to-BIM – a simple 3D scanning method of the areas, for easily carrying out the measurements required for further 3D digital representation.
These 3D models resulting from the point clouds recorded by scanning are not only user-friendly but also accurate. And due to the fact that the Evangelical Church Teaca is not only an old monumental structure but also a symbol of the cultural origins of Mihai Romonti, Manager TBE Technologie, originating in Teaca, the team was happy to embrace this mission, to create a technological basis necessary for a future restoration project, using BIM Modelling precision by 3D scanning.
Mihai Romonți, TBE Technologie Owner states:
“Being born and raised in Teaca, the Evangelical Church has a special place in my childhood memories, the park around the church being the favourite playground.
It is regrettable that the church has reached such a level of degradation, as well as other impressive buildings inherited from the Saxons and Hungarians who built this beautiful village.
The inheritance remaining from the Saxon community transcends the material and is found in the education and values of those we had the opportunity to live with them before the 1989. Immediately after, most of them left the country.
Our endeavour aimed at giving something back to the Saxon community here, trying to quicken the church restoration process, by making available to the Evangelic District Office C.A, the laser scanning services, as well as the 3D model of the church, in order to assess the deterioration state of the building. At the same time, to support the architects and structural engineers in elaborating the technical rehabilitation design, we provided them with the As Built, as a 3D model true to the actual building. In order to perform the scanning, we asked the Evangelic District Office C.A for approval and for easy access and they agreed to our request.
We hope that in the near future our endeavour finds continuity and completeness, so that the Evangelical Church Teaca re-becomes the main pillar of the religious, cultural and touristic events in the area.”
The team drafted the working plan at the office by studying the photographs taken on the site. Then, at the end of March 2021, the TBE engineers went to Teaca to initiate the activities in the field. Using a self-calibrating high-precision 3D scanner, Trimble X7, they performed a complete scan of the edifice, without altering its actual condition in any way.
• It was scanned both the outside and the inside of the building, including the framework structure
• In order to ensure maximum accuracy of the measurements, over 100 measuring stations were required, perfectly inter-connected subsequently, in the point cloud’s post-processing stage.
The analysis of the point clouds overlapping the high-resolution images made possible the accurate measurement of the various components of the building, cracks, or other flaws. Thus, besides visualizing all these factors, the civil engineers involved in the restoration project will be able to access accurate measurements and to investigate all aspects that need to be taken into account during the restoration steps. This will be possible by using point clouds viewing and assessing software (ReCap™ Pro, Trimble RealWorks, etc.).
• Inter-connecting the measuring stations in the highly compact spiral staircase. Here, the team overcame the challenge by using topographic targets and by supplementing the number of stations
• Narrow handling space and advanced state of degradation of the wooden intermediary platforms, for scanning the tower and the bell tower. Being an extremely complex wooden structure, supporting both the weight of the bells and the roof of the tower, in order to intercept the boundary of the entire area a high number of measurements was required
• To have an accurate situation of the thickness of the cupola covering the main part of the church (the nave) and the choir – a suspended structure usually placed above the entrance, in pro-nave, the scan was performed including in the roof area.
One of the particularities of the historical monuments seriously influencing the modeling process is the asymmetry of the building elements. Thus, for carrying out the project of the Evangelical Church Teaca, all similar components had to be treated as unique.
• In order to model the particular building elements, such as arched windows, arched structural elements or some walls, the usage of the standard 3D objects in the software libraries was not possible, being required their generation by the modeling team, based on the point clouds in the field
• Another complex modeling factor was generating specific design elements, such as the Church pulpit
• Unfortunately, a great part of the side dome was destroyed. However, to provide the architects with a model as true to the building prior to destruction as possible, the team made a simulation based on the existing dome, drawing fully those that were missing. The 3D components can be easily activated or deactivated in the design program, depending on the requirements of the specialists responsible for the restoration
• Creating a true and accurate 3D model of the existing frame structure was possible due to a high number of scans carried out in the bridge area and to the quality of the point clouds resulted, which allowed the usage of specific software for modeling the structural elements. This can be of real help in defining the restoration project
• The bell tower area also required a high number of measurements subsequently combined for making the 3D model
The outcome of the digitizing project of the Evangelical Church Teaca
• Complete scanning of the outside and inside building, hardly accessible
• Creating unique models for all the particular components of the building
• Making a true-to-life 3D model as support for the church restoration project
• Measurement accuracy with an overall deviation of a maximum of 2mm
About us
TBE TECHNOLOGIE is a trusted Romanian company that has been providing consultancy and system design services to some of the most respected design, engineering and project management companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, since 2011.
We have developed strong partnerships with a number of companies across Europe, designing sustainable heating, air conditioning, ventilation and plumbing systems, mainly for industrial construction and other large projects.
Do you need a true-to-life 3D overview to assess or to recondition a historical monument?
Talk to us:
E-Mail: office@tbe-technologie.ro
Tel: 004 0731 270 110
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