The Use of Faro Focus Laser Scanner: Preservation of Qatar Traditional Architectural Heritage

Cherif Amor (VCU-Q)

Importance and Rational: The preservation of traditional architectural heritage is one of the most pressing challenges the contemporary word faces. This phenomenon is exacerbated by three influences 1) rapid and uncontrolled urban growth stimulated by growing needs of developing nations, 2) abundance of wealth that calls for turnkey projects, and 3) the emerging insecurity concerns as stimulated by political instability. These influences lead to planned and unplanned destruction and disappearance of traditional architectural cultural heritage, depriving future generations of their own identity.

History and Future Prospects: The challenge of preserving nations’ architectural heritage is becoming a daunting task not only for Qatar but also for all the Gulf Countries (GCC) and suggests major challenges that confront societies subject to rapid globalization, whereby modern and emerging urban and architectural trends trivialize the old, consequently depriving the nation of its cultural traditional heritage. Qatar’s National Vision (QNV) 2030 addresses this challenge and seeks to mold modernization around local culture and tradition. Specifically, QNV underscores the necessity to preserve the cultural traditions that are a major challenge that confronts many societies in a rapidly globalized and increasingly interconnected world (p. 4), but also underlines the urgency “to meet the needs of this generation without compromising the needs of future generations (p.5).

Research Question and Purpose: This study finds impetus in the question of how to preserve the local traditional architectural heritage without preventing future generations to embrace emerging modern technologies and developments. The purpose of the study is 1) to document, through a series of preservations using advanced scanning technology, how to generate a symbiosis between traditional cultural heritage and modern technologies, and 2) to analyze the outcome and its impact on the future of preserving cultural patrimony.

Methods: To do so, a qualitative methodology based on a sample of on-site scanning procedures of eight historical landmark sites, located in one of the GCC countries, using 3D Faro Focus Laser Scanner. This included data collection procedure; i.e., step by step scanning procedures depending on the size and location of the site, timeline, scanning challenges, and selection of reference spheres for successful stitching. For data analysis, Recap Pro was used to convert the scans to drawing files and three-dimensional models, using registry and Mesh Tool procedures.

Preliminary Finding: The findings, as generated through Autodesk Recap (after conversion of the files and stitching operation) produced three-dimensional models of the selected facilities, technically termed as 3D Point Cloud, using RCP extension, a format recognized by the Autodesk drafting and modeling software. The generation of the 3D Point Cloud (models) using high resolution permitted to capture different views of the facility in a record time. Similarly, the models permitted the generation of detailed drafting plans of the facilities. Besides the benefits of generating a digital repository of the studied facilities, this experiment suggested another pragmatic use of the 3D Faro Scanner for the possibility of architectural restructuration, restoration, and renovation procedures.