Endoscopic photography in architecture

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Endoscopic photography in architecture is used to photograph or film models in the planning phase for new buildings and complex exterior and interior shots. The architectural model of a new building can thus be correctly represented from the perspective of a pedestrian from a scale of 1: 500. If the endoscope is connected to a video camera , films can be made as if the pedestrian is walking around or through the building. This enables the architect to review his first draft and develop it further. Builders , town planners and citizens can also see and assess the architect's design.

etymology

In architecture, the rigid endoscope is called relatoskop , relatoscop (French), borescope , modelscope , among other things . In this article, endoscope is used as a generic term.

history

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-28849-0005, Rostock, architects in urban planning, 1955 - bird's eye view

The rigid endoscope was first used in architecture from 1954 by the German architect Martin Schulz van Treeck, who lives in Paris . He used medical endoscopes for taking photos and later also for videos of architectural models such as those used by his father, Alfred Schulz van Treeck , a physician and pioneer of otoscopy. In 1957 he published his first article in the magazine Bauen + Wohnen with the title “ Real model photography as a new method of representation in architectural planning ”.

In architecture competitions , it is common for models to be shown on a scale of 1: 500 in addition to the plans for the first presentation . These mass models are usually viewed and photographed from a bird's eye view. Van Treeck was aware of the problem of conveying the architectural design in its traditional form. His desire to represent the model as a pedestrian will later see the building led him to the endoscope. He called the endoscope a relatoscope (French: relatoscope ). With the endoscope he was able to take the position of a pedestrian in the model. An architectural model on a scale of 1: 500 was thus shown in the correct perspective as a pedestrian sees the finished building.

The endoscope became known among architects for its use in the urban planning of the Parisian Orgues de Flandre estate on Avenue de Flandre in the 19th arrondissement . The central residential towers of the settlement have different heights and are designed in the shape of organ pipes . They have names like prelude, fugue, cantata and 4 which explains the name Orgues de Flandre . Van Treeck used the endoscope in the competition and the further planning of the Orgues de Flandre estate , with models from 1: 500 to 1: 100 scale for photography and, above all, videos. He documented his work with the endoscope from the start.

At the building and architecture fairs Batimat in November 1973 in Paris and Constructa in February 1974 in Hanover , he and a company presented the endoscope to international architects and builders for the first time on a large scale . In an article in 1974 in the architecture magazine Detail , van Treeck described the endoscope and its use in building projects. A French article by François Loyer is online as a PDF and contains endoscopic photos of the Orgues de Flandre project .

After presentations at the trade fairs and reports in specialist magazines, the use of endoscopes at international universities was investigated as part of research projects on urban planning from 1974 onwards.

research

The architects and urban planners (Urban Designer) Carl-Axel Acking ( Lund , Sweden), Donald Appleyard ( Berkeley , USA), Hendrik van Leeuwen , ( Wageningen , The Netherlands) and Antero Markelin ( Stuttgart , Germany) studied example, early use of endoscopes in architecture. The focus of the research was on the use of video films in urban planning and photographs. For the experiments, either the simulation system presented by van Treeck at the trade fairs was purchased or, due to the lack of funds, own systems were built, for example the model simulation system at the Urban Planning Institute of the University of Stuttgart , where Antero Markelin taught and researched. The two-year research from 1975 to 1977 was published in 1979 in the book Environmental Simulation, Sensory Simulation in Urban Development .

At the first conference of the European Architectural Endoscopy Association (EAEA) in 1993 at the Tampere University of Technology in Finland, the Urban Simulator of the Tampere School of Architecture, built from 1978, was demonstrated. The system as well as the computer control were mostly developed and built in-house, as the available financial resources were limited. Petri Siitonen from the Faculty of Architecture Aalto University Helsinki told the conference about the comparison of the use of computer-aided design (CAD) and endoscope by students in his lecture Future of Endoscopy ( future of endoscopy ), in which he concluded that endoscopy scores 27 points and CAD 20 points and that this would change in the years to come.

European Architectural Endoscopy Association (EAEA)

The European Architectural Endoscopy Association (EAEA) was founded in 1993. The inaugural meeting took place as part of a conference at the Institute of Architecture at Tampere University of Technology in Finland. It was the first international conference at which experts from fifteen universities who researched and taught in the field of visualization with endoscopes presented their results. The ninth conference was organized in 2009 by the Faculty of Architecture at the Brandenburg Technical University Cottbus-Senftenberg . At this conference, the participants agreed to change the name of the EAEA. Instead Endoscopy should from now on Envisioning are in the name. The name is now the European Architectural Envisioning Association (EAEA). This took into account the rapid developments in computer hardware and software for the visualization of construction projects from single-family homes to urban planning. The Technical University of Łódź (TUL) hosted the 12th European Architectural Envisioning Association conference in 2015. The EAEA conferences take place in odd years.

Practical use

In addition to the research projects at universities that received financial support, the endoscope has been used in studios by photographers and videographers for clients from architecture and advertising since 1974. As a special lens, the endoscope was part of the entire video and photo equipment in the studios. At that time in Germany, for example, the studio for visual model investigation by Ingo Wende in Berlin and from 1975 by Alex Kempkens in Munich were known . The jobs of architects and builders to photographers usually involved taking pictures of their models with a large format camera and endoscopes. Short films were produced as videos or on 16mm film . The films were usually used in larger urban development projects for public relations and to inform the public. There are only a few studios left in 2015 that offer this service.

criticism

Orgues de Flandre - Paris - Architect Martin Schulz van Treeck, photo 2016

Van Treeck already wrote about the fact that the endoscope is actually used to photograph the model from people's normal eye level:

“The purpose of relatoscopy is to align the observer's gaze with the scale of the architectural model and to bring him inside the model to the usual human viewing height. […] When comparing reality with reality simulated by a scale model, the credibility of relatoscopy proves itself. The transmission is not illusionistic, but highlights the essential information regarding the building dimensions and their spatial organization. "

The opponents of a controversial construction project are not convinced of it when they criticize it. Then it was said that the images were photographed from the ant's perspective . The eye level of a person who is 170 cm tall is approximately 160 cm. At a scale of 1: 100, the eye level of a pedestrian in the model is 16 mm and this height can be precisely maintained with the endoscope, which preferably has a diameter of 8 mm.

technology

Rigid endoscopes have been used to obtain high quality photographs or films. For example the rod lens endoscopes (rod lens system) based on the invention of Harold Hopkins . The flexible glass fiber endoscopes , called fiberscopes , flexoscopes and video endoscopes , did not achieve the same quality at the time because of the bundled glass fibers.

In the beginning, rigid medical endoscopes were used for direct viewing as well as for photography, video and film for environmental simulation and for external and internal shots of models. The endoscopes used in industry, called boroscopes , have the same basic design. Specially developed boroscopes were sometimes used in the model visualization. A lot of light is required for video and film recordings. Lamps and headlights with high performance is required. Powerful flash units were used in professional photo studios. The light passed through the glass fibers of an endoscope in medicine, known as a cold light source , was rarely used in model photography.

The model simulation system for video, film and photo recordings presented by van Treeck at trade fairs required that the endoscope coupled to the video camera or the photo camera was located vertically above the model. This was necessary because of the 90 degree viewing direction of the lens . This system was correspondingly complex and expensive. In photography, endoscopes with other viewing directions could also be used, as the camera did not necessarily have to be perpendicular over the model.

Model visualization before and after 1995

Since the beginning of the 1960s, research has been carried out on the use of computers in architecture and the first computer graphics relating to architecture have been published in reports. Up until 1995, the realization of model visualizations as computer images or computer animation was so complex and expensive that it was seldom an alternative compared to the costs of endoscopic photographs and films. Exceptions were made in prestige projects, such as in 1984 for the computer model of the glass pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre by architect Ieoh Ming Pei .

When the Tampere School of Architecture had to move in 1995, the 20 year old Urban Simulator was replaced by a modern system. The latest endoscopes, components and computers for camera control, image processing and modern computer-aided methods were installed. The new laboratory was presented in 1997 at the EAEA conference at the Technical University of Delft . The endoscope technology for the visualization of architectural models is only offered at a few universities as part of training and research. This happens in parallel to 2D, 3D and VR computer animation .

Recently and in the future

The development of computers, lighting, software, wireless data transmission and the smallest video endoscopes with a CCD sensor was so rapid in the decades after 1995 that a student of architecture in their first semester can hardly imagine how complex model simulation and visualization used to be . The development of endoscopes also benefited from the pace of these years. An example of this development is the Urban Simulation Laboratory at the Milan Polytechnic (DiAP), which was founded in 2007. At the eleventh EAEA conference in Milan in 2013, a mini car with a micro camera was shown that could drive on a model street at least 2.2 cm wide to record video recordings. The video data was transferred to a screen. The mini car was controlled by hand through the city model. The previously complex technical construction for video recordings was no longer necessary.

Models that you can touch, walk around and get a bird's eye view continue to be built. This applies to studies, the requirements of the building owners as well as the presentation of projects at trade fairs for real estate and investments. There are also models that are viewed from a bird's eye view, for example at the Expo Real in Munich or the MIPIM in the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes .

Renaissance of endoscopy

In his presentation at the EAEA conference in Tampere in 1993, Bob Martens from the Vienna University of Technology said A renaissance of endoscopy could thus be envisaged at least for still pictures. - A renaissance of endoscopy could thus be considered, at least for still images. He also worked with 3-D computer simulation, but felt that endoscopy still had advantages in student education when he wrote: Endoscopy is not overloaded with theory; Students can tackle the subject in a playful manner. - Endoscopy is not overloaded with theory; Students can approach the topic in a fun way .

He could not foresee the technical development plus the cost reductions for endoscopes and video films in the decades since his lecture. In the summer of 2015, video endoscope cameras were offered and sold as men's toys for 60 euros by two of the largest retail chains in Germany . Now it is even possible for a student to purchase their own video endoscope camera in order to visualize their models for the presentation of the term paper with the endoscope. The prices for rigid endoscopes and associated photographic equipment have also become affordable. The reduction in the cost of using endoscopes supports Bob Martens' thesis that there may be a renaissance in endoscopy .

reception

In 1954, Martin Schulz van Treeck wanted to take the pedestrian perspective into account in his planning and convey this to clients and citizens. At that time, the endoscope was the only tool to be able to photograph and film architectural models from this perspective. His idea of ​​showing the perspective of the pedestrian has thus established itself. The digital revolution was at the very beginning and had not yet developed any tools ( hardware and software ) to realize his ideas. Decades have now passed and the computer tool can easily visualize and animate the perspective of a pedestrian as a photo or film. The endoscope is in the digital age ( Digital Age has been obtained) by the new technologies.

See also

literature

  • Eugenio Morello, Barbara EA Piga: EAEA11 2013. Envisioning Architecture: Design, Evaluation, Communication ; Kindle Edition, Eaea 11 2013 , Edizioni Nuova Cultura, Rome, 2013.
  • Jack Breen: Designing Design Communication. Considering the conditions, effects and opportunities for imaginative visual representation models in architectural study initiatives. Modeling Studies, Faculty of Architecture, University of Technology, NL ( PDF 7 MB ).
  • Model photography: With the endoscope into the realm of the mini world. In: PM Magazin , No. 11 (1978), p. 11.
  • Volker Wachs: The other perspective. In: Color Foto , January 1980, pp. 135–141.
  • Jürgen G. Gumprich: Alex Kempkens, Endography. In: ProfiFOTO , No. 4 (1981), pp. 36-41.
  • Bob Martens: The Future of Endoskopy. In: Bob Martens, Ed .: The Future of Endoscopy. Proceedings of the 2nd European Architectural Endoscopy Association Conference in Vienna, 1995; - IRIS-ISIS-Publications at ÖKK-Editions - vol. 1 - Österreichischer Kunst- und Kulturverlag, Vienna 1996. ISBN 3-85437-114-4 .
  • Jack Breen: Learning from the (in) visible city, Design media experiments in an educational setting, in: The Architectural Annual 1996 - 1997, Delft University of Technology, 010 publishers, Rotterdam, 1998.
  • Ryuzo Ohno, Hirofumi Aoki, eds .: A Visual Simulation by Real-Time CG Overlaid on the Video Image of a Scale Model, Proceedings of 4th Conference of the European Architectural Endoscopy Association, pp. 36-49, 2001.
  • Martens, B. and Keul AG Ed .: Designing Social Innovation: Planning, Building, Evaluation, Hogrefe & Huber Publishers, Cambridge, 2005, pp. 223–230.
  • SM Arisona, G. Aschwanden, J. Halatsh, and P. Wonka Ed .: Digital Urban Modeling and Simulation, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2012, pp. 339–246.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Jean-François Pousse: Realizations. L'intervention de la tour européenne (13/30): les Orgues de Flandres (1976), Paris. In: LeMoniteur.fr of August 14, 2009.
  2. ↑ Martin Schulz van Treeck: Real model photography as a new method of representation in architectural planning. In: Bauen + Wohnen , 1957, pp. 332 & - 334.
  3. ^ A b François Loyer: Pour bien lire une maquette d'architecture: le relatoscope. In: Communication et langage , Volume 23 (1974), pp. 56-75.
  4. ↑ a b Martin Schulz van Treeck: Options for the representation and clarification of architectural projects. In: DETAIL , No. 4 (July / August 1974), pp. 635-642.
  5. ↑ a b c d Antero Markelin, Bernd Fahle (ed.): Environmental simulation, sensory simulation in urban development , Krämer, Stuttgart 1979, p. 5.
  6. ↑ a b Petri Siitonen: Future of Endoscopy. In: Seppo Aura (et al.): Endoscopy as a Tool in Architecture. Tampere 1993, pp. 181-184 ( digitized version ).
  7. ↑ General EAEA information.
  8. ^ Endoscopy as a Tool in Architecture: Proceedings of the 1st European Architectural Endoscopy Association Conference.
  9. ↑ EAFA Conference ( Memento of the original dated February 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , on the website of the Department of Architecture at TU Delft . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tudelft-architecture.nl
  10. ↑ EAEA 12-2015 , on the website of the TU Lodz (Polish: Łódź).
  11. ^ General EAFA Information , on the TU Wien website .
  12. ↑ Ingo Wende: Model simulation. In: Baumeister , No. 1/1981, pp. 58–62.
  13. ↑ Doris Schmidt: Waiting for the start. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , No. 294 from 18./19. December 1976, p. 66.
  14. ^ Eva Kirchenhofer: Views from the ant's perspective. In: ZEITmagazin , No. 23 (1980), pp. 38-39.
  15. ^ Antero Markelin, Bernd Fahle (ed.): Environmental simulation, sensory simulation in urban planning. Krämer, Stuttgart 1979, pp. 74 - 81 and 131.
  16. ↑ Jonathan Barnett: Will the Computer Change the Practice of Architecture? In: Architectural Record , January 1965, pp. 143-150.
  17. ↑ Havard Design School, Center for Design Informatics: The Grand Louvre (PDF 873 KB).
  18. ↑ Developing a new endoscopy laboratory with digital tools EAEA conference abstracts 1997 (PDF, 405 KB).
  19. ↑ Ryuzo Ohno: Simulation Methods ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , on the Tokyo Institute of Technology website . @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.enveng.titech.ac.jp
  20. ^ Envisioning Architecture: Design, Evaluation, Communication. 11th Conference of the European Architectural Envisioning Association.
  21. ↑ Endoscopy Architectural MicroCar , on YouTube .
  22. ↑ EXPO REAL, Munich
  23. ^ MIPIM, Cannes
  24. ↑ a b Bob Martens: A Renaissance of Architectural Endoscopy? on the website of the Vienna University of Technology.