UAS and TLS 3D data fusion for built cultural heritage assessment and the application for St. Catherine Monastery in Ferrara, Italy

Abstract. The present research, conducted at the Monastery of St. Catherine in Ferrara, Italy, is an integral component of a broader investigation focused on comprehending, recognizing and enhancing the tangible values of the Dominican priests and their sacred sites in Ferrara, utilizing advanced digital surveying techniques. The architectural legacy of this monastery serves as a insightful link to the city’s history and inhabitants. Regrettably, its typological features are frequently overlooked or altered, underscoring the need to grasp these characteristics as a fundamental step in ensuring their preservation. Given the monastery’s distinct typological and geometrical attributes, an integrated survey approach was implemented to gather essential data for reconstructing the building in its existing state, encompassing both an urban and detailed scale. This comprehensive assessment sought to evaluate the critical conditions of the construction that required improvement.
The objective of this paper is to underscore the advancements achieved in assessing structural health behaviour, incorporating data obtained through terrestrial laser scanning (i.e., TLS) and structure-from-motion techniques, coupled with an unmanned aerial system (i.e., UAS), to generate a three-dimensional data model that accurately captures the entire spatiality of the building and its urban context. As a result, the building assessment demonstrated which parts of the building’s facades were overturning, while identifying the thorough kinematic phenomena progressively acting. The related considerations lead to a structural project perfectly shaped on the unique characteristics of the complex supported by data as accurately as possible, which also positively influenced the entire architectural design process.