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Case study:
Data City: Integration and visualisation of spatial and socio-economic data in an urban context

Data set 1; the urban fabric

This data set represents the built form in the area.

The method we used to build the model was to form the topography of the urban blocks and streets, to form the buildings as simple rectangular volumes, and to map onto the building volumes the digital photographs of the street facades.

We used a wide-angle lens to take digital photographs of the facades of the buildings and rectified the distortion caused by perspective angles using Photoshop. We then mapped the rectified digital photographs onto the building volumes.

The overall effect is convincing if one does not magnify the model too much. To achieve a higher level of accuracy in positioning the photos we would have had to use a 50mm lens to take the photographs. The problem then is that we would have needed approximately 1000 photos to cover the area and a great amount of time to join them together and map them to the 3D model.

Fig. 11 Data set 1, urban fabric, looking from North East

Fig. 12 Data set 1, urban fabric looking from South West

Fig. 13 Data set 1, urban fabric, looking from North West

Fig. 14 Data set 1, urban fabric, looking from South East

Last updated: June 24, 2003