From Space to Data: Smart Survey Methods in Architecture and Archeology

Course review Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 JULIO-DICIEMBRE 2023 JULY-DECEMBER 2023 From Space to Data: Smart Survey Methods in Architecture and Archeology Ir a la versión en español OJS DOI: 10.30763/Intervencion.290.v2n28.69.2023 • YEAR 14, NO. 28: 229-240 Índice / Contents Submitted: 31.01. 2023 • Accepted: 02.10.2023 • Published: 16.02.2024 María Sánchez Vega Coordinación Nacional de Monumentos Históricos (cnmh), Instituto Nacional de Antropología Historia (inah) | orcid: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9253-4672 Translation by Araceli Paola Salinas Gómez SUMMARY This review reports on the work carried out in the From Space to Data: Smart Survey Methods in Architecture and Archaeology course, taught by Hungarian specialists Dr. Zsolt Vasáros and Master Mór Bendegúz Takáts, from January 9 to 18, 2023 at the Museo Nacional de Historia (mnh), Castillo de Chapultepec (National Museum of History, Chapultepec Castle), and organized by the Coordinación Nacional de Monumentos Históricos (cnmh, National Coordination of Historical Monuments, Mexico) within the framework of the Technical Contribution Agreement signed between the governments of Mexico and Hungary in 2020. The course was attended by 27 participants: archaeologists and architects affiliated with different work centers and two guests from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (unam). KEY WORDS technology, digital photogrammetry, Hungary, earthquakes I t is well known to all of us living in Mexico that earthquakes are natural phenomena that have struck the country since immemorial time. The earthquakes of September 7 and 19, 2017, caused significant damage to 2 340 historical properties located in different states of the Republic and Mexico City. The international community did not remain oblivious to this tragedy. Among others, the Government of Hungary responded to the emergency through its Hungary Helps program, which offered support to the Mexican From Space to Data: Smart Survey Methods in Architecture and Archeology CONVOCATORIA 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS 2023 229 Course review Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 JULIO-DICIEMBRE 2023 JULY-DECEMBER 2023 OJS Índice / Contents people in the challenging task of architectural restoration. That gesture of solidarity was formalized on April 9, 2019, with the execution of the Cooperation Agreement between the Mexican Ministry of Culture and the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Secretaría de Cultura, 2019). One of the heritage sites benefiting from economic resources and specialized technical advice to perform restoration work was the ancient temple and convent of La Natividad (The Nativity) in Tepoztlán, Morelos. Later, in 2020, new agreements were signed between the Hungarian and Mexican governments through Hungary’s embassy in Mexico and the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (inah, National Institute of Anthropology and History) and the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (inbal, National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature), under which the Technical Contribution Agreement was signed on November 24 (Secretaría de Cultura, 2020), seeking to provide economic resources to buy and update materials, equipment, and software, such as a Flir C5 infrared thermal camera, a Leica GLS112 prism pole, a DJI Air 2S drone with a Xiaomi cell phone to operate it, a Nikon Z50 20.9MP camera, four reactivations and upgrades of Leica Cyclone CloudWorx AutoCAD pro ccp, Leica Cyclone Model ccp, and Leica Cyclone Register ccp software. This contribute to the improvement of the Laboratorio de Imagen y Análisis Dimensional (liad, Dimensional Image and Analysis Lab) of the Coordinación Nacional de Monumentos Históricos (cnmh, National Coordination of Historical Monuments) of the inah and the organization of the From Space to Data: Smart Survey Methods in Architecture and Archaeology course, dictated under the supervision of the cnmh and which aimed to strengthen the technical capacities of personnel affiliated with the inah. In line with the requests made by Hungarian specialists Dr. Zsolt Vasáros1 and Master Mór Bendegúz Takáts,2 the cnmh proposed the Museo Nacional de Historia (mnh), Castillo de Chapultepec (Nacional History Museum, Chapultepec Castle), as the venue to Dr. Zsolt Vasáros studied architecture, archaeology, and Egyptology at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary. He graduated as an architect from the Faculty of Architecture of the same university in 1997. In 2000, he opened the Narmer Architecture Studio in Budapest. He is known for his innovative designs and research projects for museums, archaeological sites, and natural environments. He is currently working on several research projects in Hungary, Central Europe, and the Middle East and is Head of the Department of Explorative Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. 2 Master Mór Bendegúz Takáts is an archaeologist, 3D expert Imaging systems, and associate professor at the Institute of Archaeology of the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest, where he is also Director of the Archaeological gis Laboratory. His main fields of research are the archaeological legacy of the late Sasanian and early Muslim periods, the archaeology of the medieval Near East, non-invasive archaeological research, and the application of 3D imaging systems. 1 From Space to Data: Smart Survey Methods in Architecture and Archeology CONVOCATORIA 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS 2023 230 Course review Intervención ISSN 2448-5934 JULIO-DICIEMBRE 2023 JULY-DECEMBER 2023 OJS Índice / Contents teach the course. The museum was chosen since it is a historical building with an important collection of heritage objects, surrounded by green spaces, and with archaeological remains in its immediate surroundings, making it ideal for carrying out the exercises planned by the specialists. In addition, it was also possible to have a suitable space, such as the auditorium, for taking lessons, attending the lectures given by the Hungarian specialists, and holding the opening and closing ceremonies. The Museum’s director, historian Salvador Rueda Smithers, acknowledged the value of the course and, together with his team, gave his full support to its success. Based on the premise that the inah “researches, preserves, and disseminates Mexico’s archaeological, anthropological, historical, and paleontological heritage in order to strengthen the national identity and memory of the society who owns it” (inah, 2022),3 the purpose of the course was to show architects and archaeologists affiliated with different inah work centers the use of various smart technologies from a theoretical perspective and the interaction among them as tools that can deliver a 3D survey of cultural heritage at a micro and macro scale; that is, from objects to historical and archaeological sites. Considering the above, professors Vasáros and Takáts developed a 75-hour cou (...truncated)