The shape of (Point) Clouds

Abstract

Traditionally conceived as a process of measurement and representation aimed at understanding built heritage, Survey has always been an interpretative act, where Drawing instead used to mediate between observation and conceptualisation. With the advent of 3D capturing technologies, particularly Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and Structure from Motion (SfM), this paradigm has shifted: sketches and measured drawings has been replaced by the point cloud, a massive numerical dataset seemingly detached from subjectivity. Yet, the cognitive nature of Survey persists, now articulated across two distinct phases (data acquisition and selection/interpretation) where transparency of procedures aligns the first with the scientific method, while interpretation remains an authorial act.Research conducted within the NRRP project Produzione, Organizzazione e Comunicazione della Conoscenza on the Aachen Cathedral, the San Lorenzo in Miranda Church, the Unfinished of Venosa, and the Cathedrals of Acerenza and Aversa, demonstrates how digital infrastructures, databases, and HBIM frameworks enable new readings of historical architecture.The point cloud thus emerges as both autonomous source and representational form: a “geometric imprint” preserving spatial and material memory. Beyond its technical role, it embodies a new epistemic layer, a digital palimpsest where knowledge and interpretation converge.