3D Scans of Mexican World Heritage

As part of the seminar that took place at Templo Mayor Museum, in Mexico City Historical Centre, different projects that have used the 3D laser scanner technology to conform a digital database of historical and archaeological constructions in Mexico were made known.

This practice has resulted on better restoration decision-making regarding built heritage, such as in the cases on Santa Ana Temple and Ex Convent, in Tzintzuntzan, Michoacan, San Juan de Ulua Fort, in Veracruz, Veracruz, and Plaza Seminario in Mexico City, which interventions were designed based on digital surveying obtained with the laser scanner system.

Architect Juan Carlos Garcia Villarruel, in charge of the laboratory, explained that the laser device can register 50,000 laser points per second, sending information in real time to a computer that processes data to allow 3D visualisation, providing highly detailed images.

Graphic designer Angel Mora Flores, in charge of the Unit of Technological Support to Historical Monuments added that this technology facilitates the creation of databases that allow metric analysis and generation of virtual visits.

This technology has allowed defining problems regarding structural behavior of the temples of Loreto, La Concepcion and La Santisima, located in Mexico City Historical Center. 3D models of the Santa Ana Temple and Ex Convent have been created as well.

www.archaelologydaily.com