IDOVIR – Infrastructure for Documentation of Virtual Reconstructions

IDOVIR – Infrastructure for Documentation of Virtual Reconstructions An online tool for the scientific documentation of virtual, hypothetical architectural reconstructions and their underlying sources and decisions 1. BACKGROUND / MOTIVATION Loss of knowledge? In the context of architectural and urban research, virtual reconstructions have become widely established as tools for communication and research. They often visualize architecture that no longer exists, but also historical building projects that have never been realized, earlier building states or even entire cities. During a reconstruction process, a wide variety of sources, some of which are contradictory or ambiguous, can play a role and be interpreted and evaluated differently. However, the documentation of these decision-making processes has so far been the exception, and there is a risk that the knowledge embedded in reconstructions will be lost. 2. METHODS / RESULTS Simple and low-threshold The aim of IDOVIR is to document the decisions as to why a reconstruction was created in the way it was, which sources it is based on, which other variants were considered, but also which conceivable variants were rejected and why (comprehensible documentation of negative results) and to make them accessible via the Internet. At the same time, IDOVIR is intended to support communication between those involved in the genesis of a reconstruction and to help structure the creation of the reconstruction in a meaningful way. 3D viewer with sectional view and superimposed floor plan Evaluation of plausibility A reconstruction process always involves the interpretation and evaluation of sources as a starting point for the creation of a hypothetical model. The plausibility of the reconstruction result depends on the one hand on the informative value and type of sources used, and on the other hand on subjective decision-making processes. In IDOVIR, the evaluation consists of three categories. It combines the possibility of self-evaluation with regard to the generally subjective assessment of the plausibility of the reconstruction with a generally objective classification of the sources used. 3. OUTLOOK IDOVIR 2.0 The workflow will be further improved in the second project phase. The input of data is to be simplified using AIsupported methods and linked to standard data as automatically as possible. A kind of “light table” in the context of the concept of “comparative vision” should make it possible to arrange, compare and discuss several sources as well as reconstruction results. https://idovir.com Reconstruction – Argumentation Method A project can be structured as desired into spatial areas and time periods in which knowledge units can be created. These knowledge units are the central component of the documentation consisting of the triad of reconstruction (2D views as well as 3D models), the underlying sources and the argumentation, which shows how the sources were interpreted and which decisions led to the result. As reconstructions are rarely unambiguous, it is also possible to create variants and working statuses. In this way, further plausible variants can and should be recorded and documented, as well as those that may have been rejected. Technische Universität Darmstadt Digital Design Unit Marc Grellert [email protected] Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Dresden Faculty of Informatics/Mathematics Jonas Bruschke [email protected] Markus Wacker [email protected] Funded byhessian.AI Hessian Center for Artificial Intelligence Daniel Beck [email protected] Wolfgang Stille [email protected]