Completed Faculty Projects

Experiencing Historic Architecture

Project Title: "Experiencing Historic Architecture"

Project Description: Nuestra Señora de la Merced chapel at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in the Miami neighborhood of Allapattah is a structure that has been renovated and decorated to resemble a historic Spanish Colonial church.

This project provides Magic Leap headset users with the opportunity to visit this building in two different spaces and modes: a virtual, more immersive experience outside the structure, and an enriched, AR experience inside the church itself.

Exterior: 3D models of the church’s interior and exterior were uploaded to Unity to form the basis for the architectural experience application. In the first user scenario, a viewer can experience a full immersive tour of the building wearing the goggles, walking around the building model on the exterior, viewing it from the top, and then visiting the structure’s interior. The virtual visit will allow the viewer to stop at points of interest and learn about these architectural elements through content generated by students in ARH 270 (Spanish Art).

Nuestra Senora de la Merced Chapel

Nuestra Senora de la Merced Chapel

Interior: The second scenario entails using the headset in the church of Nuestra Señora itself, where a viewer’s experience of a Spanish Colonial interior will be augmented with data from other historic structures, allowing users to compare the artworks and architectural details in the church with structures and art collections worldwide, creating a personally-curated, virtual collection of artworks.

 Nuestra Senora de la Merced Chapel

Nuestra Senora de la Merced Chapel

Nuestra Senora de la Merced Chapel  Nuestra Senora de la Merced Chapel

 Experiencing Historic Architecture

Nuestra Senora de la Merced Chapel

Principal Investigators:
Dr. Karen Mathews | Art historian
Chris Mader | IDSC Software Engineering, Photogrammetry
Amin Sarafraz | IDSC Software Engineering, Photogrammetry

Art Historical Content Created by:
Spring 2020 ARH 2700 Students

Tools:

  • Magic Leap 1 Creator Edition
  • Unity 2019.2
  • Maya 2020.1
  • Blender 2.8
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Leica RTC 360 Laser Scanner
  • Nikon DSLR Camera
  • SenseFly Albris Drone

Read More: "AR Application Explores Spanish Colonial Paintings and Architecture" IDSC Magazine story by Richard Westlund, Fall 2020

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