Architecture (Conservation)

ALFONSO IPPOLITO

The course provides students with the base and advanced knowledge about the role of architectonical survey within the process of understanding environment and architecture and highlights the aspects of interpretation, compared with the project representation, with the 'reading' of historical buildings, with the mapping of the constituent materials and macroscopic forms of deterioration in order to evaluate the state of conservation of architectural structures. The course also makes specific reference to the latest automatic survey technology and geo-referenced.

At the end of the course, the student will be able to carry out architectural and urban surveys with a scientifically sound approach, distinguishing between direct and instrumental methods. They will be able to experiment with the main graphic and digital representation techniques, from 3D modeling to thematic mapping, applying them to the analysis of historic buildings and urban contexts. They will also be able to demonstrate proficiency in procedures of documentation, cataloguing, and graphic restitution, integrating observation, measurement, and critical interpretation of architectural artifacts. The course aims to provide both theoretical and practical tools to read, analyze, and represent architecture in all its components (metric, structural, formal), highlighting survey not only as a technical operation but as a knowledge-based discipline, essential for conservation, heritage protection, and architectural design.

There are no prerequisites.

The extended program is presented from the very first lecture and made available on the course Classroom platform.
The course (8 ECTS – 100 hours) provides students with theoretical and practical tools for architectural, urban, and built environment surveying. It addresses methodologies for metric data acquisition, procedures and techniques of graphic restitution, digital modeling, and thematic analysis aimed at documentation, restoration, and conservation. After acquiring basic skills in the first two years, students will apply them to the survey and representation of a historic building, experimenting with graphic, digital, and instrumental techniques.
The program is structured into three disciplinary areas:
• Geometry of representation: 3D modeling and surface analysis in architecture.
• Architectural drawing: theoretical insights and applied activities supporting survey work.
• Architectural survey: methods and issues of architectural and urban survey, with particular attention to heritage conservation.
Additional topics include: the history of architectural surveying (from antiquity to the nineteenth century), elements of cartography and metrology, methodologies of direct, instrumental, and photogrammetric survey, new technologies (3D scanning, Image-Based Modeling), graphic representation techniques and thematic maps, and cataloguing according to ICCD standards.
The exam consists of the evaluation of the submitted works and an individual oral examination on the topics covered in class and the recommended readings.
The course Classroom page serves as the official channel for programs, schedules, communications, and teaching materials. Faculty members meet students weekly during the semester to provide guidance and monitor their progress.

The course does not require a single reference textbook. However, students are strongly encouraged to use the notebook, as in previous years, to systematically collect all notes from lectures and exercises. The notebook may also be consulted during the exam.

Si consiglia inoltre la lettura della bibliografia di riferimento, utile ad approfondire i temi trattati a lezione.
Mario Docci e Diego Maestri, Storia del rilevamento architettonico e urbano, Bari 1993
Mario Docci e Diego Maestri, Manuale di rilevamento architettonico e urbano, Bari 2009 (Nuova Edizione)
Mario Docci, Strumenti didattici per il rilievo, corso di strumenti e metodi per il rilevamento
dell’architettura, Gangemi Roma 2000
Mario Docci, Diego Maestri, Marco Gaiani, Scienza del Disegno, Città Studi 2017
Carlo Bianchini, Carlo Inglese, Alfonso Ippolito, 2016. I Teatri del Mediterraneo come esperienza di rilevamento integrato / The Theaters of the Mediterranean as integrated survey experience. Roma: Sapienza University press. ISBN: 978-88-98533-93-0
Carlo Bianchini, La Documentazione dei teatri antichi del Mediterraneo, Gangemi Roma 2012

Emanuela Chiavoni, Il disegno di Oratori romani, Gangemi Roma 2008
Carlo Bianchini, La Scienza della Rappresentazione nella concezione di Guarino Guarini, Gangemi Roma 2008
Luca Ribichini, Il volto e l’architetto, Gangemi Roma 2008
Mario Docci, Manuale di disegno architettonico, Bari 1985
Mario Fondelli, Manuale di Topografia, 3voll.,Bari 1991
Riccardo Migliari, Il disegno degli ordini e l’architettura classica: cinque pezzi facili”, in “Disegnare, Idee, Immagini”, II2, Roma 1991
Cesare Cundari, Fotogrammetria architettonica, Roma 1983
Michela Cigola, Proposta di simbologia grafica per il Rilevamento architettonico e urbano, Roma 1988
Marco Carpiceci, “La fotografia per l’architettura e l’ambiente”, Fratelli Palombi Editori, 1997
Marco Carpiceci,”Il rilevamento dello spazio architettonico”, Kappa edizioni, Roma 2000
E. Chiavoni, Marina Docci, “Mole da olio e mole da grano tra paesaggio agrario e archeologia industriale. Il sistema dei frantoi e dei mulini ad acqua nell’Alto Lazio: conoscenza e valorizzazione”, Aracne, editrice Roma 2014

The aim of the course is to provide students with the tools necessary to read, represent, and analyze an architectural element in its various aspects – metric, structural, formal, etc. – through a scientifically rigorous and controlled approach.
After acquiring in the first two years the foundations and skills needed to construct and manipulate geometric, graphic, and digital models of an architectural object, students will be required to address the challenges related to the survey and representation of a historical building.
Particular attention will be devoted to the use of indirect surveying techniques – such as 3D laser scanning, photogrammetry, and topographic instruments. On this case study, each student will be asked to apply and experiment with the graphic and digital methods acquired, while systematically employing the different surveying procedures in a conscious and methodical way.

Attendance is not formally mandatory, but it is essential in order to carry out the periodic reviews of the assignments, which will form an integral part of the final assessment and will be presented during the exam.

Students may work in groups (max. 3 members) for survey and elaboration activities, while individual learning outcomes are always assessed.
Assessment is structured in two phases, consistent with the expected learning outcomes:
• Evaluation of submitted works: aimed at verifying the student’s ability to autonomously and scientifically apply surveying, representation, and modeling techniques, as well as to effectively document and communicate the results.
• Individual oral examination: designed to assess the theoretical understanding of the topics covered in class and the recommended readings, with particular attention to critical analysis and the integration of historical, technical, and methodological aspects.
This combination of assessments ensures full coherence between the expected learning outcomes (knowledge, skills, and communication abilities) and the chosen evaluation methods.

The required works are:

Sketchbook: an A4 album collecting notes, ex-tempore exercises, workshops, and field sketches.

Drawings: CAD drawings (UNI format) documenting the historical-architectural context, the geometric survey (1:50 or 1:100), the architectural survey (plans, elevations, sections at 1:50), detailed drawings (1:20, 1:10), and a color study (one per student).

3D Models: digital models demonstrating the student’s ability to reconstruct and manipulate the spatial qualities of the studied building.

The final presentation may be traditional (printed drawings) or digital (PowerPoint, website, or interactive platform). Each group must also produce at least 5 vertical images (9:16), designed for Instagram, effectively communicating the project and the learning process.

Historical Questions
What role did architectural survey play from Classical Antiquity to the 19th century?
What does the Forma Urbis Romae represent, and what is its importance in the history of urban surveying?
How did Leonardo da Vinci contribute to the development of urban surveying (Imola Map)?
What are the main contributions of the 19th century to the history of architectural survey?
What is the relationship between ancient metrology and architectural survey?

Questions on Survey Methodology
What are the fundamental differences between direct survey and instrumental survey?
What does the polygonal method consist of, and when is it used?
Explain the differences between trilateration and triangulation.
What are the theoretical principles of the theory of measurement and uncertainty?
What traditional instruments are used for direct survey?

New Technologies and Tools
What is meant by Image Based Modelling (IBM), and how is it applied to architectural survey?
What advantages does 3D scanning offer compared to traditional methods?
What are the limitations of photogrammetry compared to other digital survey techniques?

Urban Survey and Restoration
What issues characterize urban survey compared to architectural survey?
How does surveying contribute to conservation and restoration practices?
Why is survey considered a cognitive and formative tool for architects?

Representation Techniques
What are the main graphic conventions used in architectural survey?
Explain the meaning of the different representation scales (1:50, 1:20, 1:10).
What is the function of thematic maps in architectural survey?

• History of Architectural Survey


• Survey Methodology


• Theory
  of measurement, accuracy, and rules to be observed when taking measurements


• Direct
  survey: general issues, instruments and techniques of use, traditional
  methodologies


• Instrumental
  and photogrammetric survey: instruments, techniques, and methodologies


• New
  survey technologies: 3D scanning, Image-Based Modelling (IBM)


• Urban
  survey: general issues and methodologies


• Survey
  aimed at restoration and structural consolidation


• Graphic
  representation techniques of survey data: graphic conventions, symbols, and
  representation standards


• Scales
  of representation and their content