Virtual old town model Frankfurt am Main
The virtual old town model Frankfurt am Main is a project for the computer-aided three-dimensional visualization of the old town of Frankfurt am Main, which was destroyed in the Second World War . It was created from 2003 and was opened to the public in April 2011. In the meantime, however, the page can no longer be accessed.
The basis is the old town model created by the Treuner brothers from 1926 to 1955 , but also contemporary photographs, drawings and watercolors . The model shows the undamaged condition of the city before the first heavy bombing raids in 1943.
Motivation, origin and history
The project Virtual Old Town Model Frankfurt am Main was started in 2003 by the geographer Jörg Ott. His main motivation was to virtually revive an old town that was destroyed in the air raids on Frankfurt am Main in the Second World War and to enable a comparison with the current state.
The choice fell on Frankfurt am Main because the difference between pre-war and post-war buildings is particularly pronounced here and, in Ott's opinion, the city with its built history has radically broken. In addition, according to Ott, the model should be an incentive to rethink architecture and city center planning and to be able to better visualize the historical models in future projects.
The literature and primary source studies alone dragged on for five months, but led to the result that an almost complete virtual reconstruction of the old town is possible with the help of modern computer technology. The most important source quickly emerged from the sketchbooks of the Treuner brothers , completely preserved in the archive of the Historical Museum , with which they built their miniature model of the old town on a scale of 1: 200 before the Second World War . In addition, historical photos, facade developments from the 1940s, old postcards and, with regard to the colors of the facades, which are also noted in Treuner's sketchbooks, the well-known watercolors by Jupp Berten were used.
At the beginning of November 2003, the first buildings (facade development Frohnhofstraße , Brückhofstraße , Kleiner Wollgraben ) were erected in a simple state compared to today, in 2004 the oldest part of the old town between the cathedral and the Römer and in 2005 the quarter east of the cathedral and along the Fahrgasse .
After the decision of the city of Frankfurt to demolish the technical town hall from the 1970s and to rebuild the area afterwards, an urban planning competition was held at the end of 2005. The architects KSP Engel und Zimmermann emerged as the winner. Its contemporary design found recognition in specialist circles, but not in a section of the Frankfurt population who demanded the rebuilding of war-torn buildings on the site and came together in initiatives and associations. Ott turned to them to support the goal of a reconstruction of the Dom-Römer area as true to the original as possible with his model.
In this way, the model was made public in March 2006 at a first press conference in the Historical Museum , which meant that construction progress had to be delayed this year. Subsequently, renderings of the virtual old town model were published more and more often in the local and regional press. The colored images, some of which have been further developed in montages, can provide a much better impression of any future buildings based on historical models than historical black and white photographs.
In addition, at the end of 2005, Ott had the opportunity to work with the future civil engineer Dominik Mangelmann , who, as part of his diploma thesis, dealt with the feasibility of a real reconstruction of parts of Frankfurt's old town, which was also beneficial for the virtual old town model. In 2006, despite the time constraints, the central old town between the cathedral and the Römer was completed and several technical improvements were made.
In the following year, the model was shown for the first time on television and in moving images in a very successful, repeatedly repeated film by the Hessischer Rundfunk entitled Als Frankfurt 100 Gassen . The film shows a run on the field of the up to then still with the municipal engineering department built Dom-Roman area of the former alley behind the lamb over the chicken market to Altenmarkt and the Red House and into the butcher Höfchen .
In 2008 the ensemble of the Kornmarkt u. a. with the German Reformed Church and the birthplace of Lili Schönemann . Other large sacred buildings, including the Carmelite Monastery and the Leonhard Church , took up considerable time. In the same year, the northern course of the Fahrgasse up to the Zeil , the classical main front and the “Pie” at the eastern beginning of Braubachstrasse , on which the Museum of Modern Art now stands, was completed.
The model underwent the biggest change since its creation in the spring of 2009 when it was converted from the previous static light model to a modern light model based on radiosity . With the construction of the Main and the completion of some Main bridges , views of the city from the water side became possible. This year, the new town hall complex, the Katharinen- and Weißfrauenkirche , the Handwerkerhöfchen behind the five-finger place and the Bethmannpalais on the completed Buchgasse were added. The Große Hirschgraben with the Goethe House and the Church of Our Lady were also completed.
Extensive source studies at the Institute for Urban History in May 2009 also produced the result that large parts of the northern old town beyond Schnurgasse and almost up to Grabenstrasse can be reconstructed virtually. The basic model building work, which will concentrate on the aforementioned area, was completed in February 2011; Nonetheless, Ott plans to add the missing areas of the Hauptwache and the Zeil to the model in the medium term .
The model was published on the Internet in April 2011. Ott uses the technology of the Google Street View competitor Sightwalk. 1,405 interconnected 360 ° panoramas, which were rendered from the model, form the basis for an interactive city tour. In addition to a “red line” that leads the user past all sights, it is also possible to move around the old town as freely as possible. Background information on the most important sights is provided by 125 videos that are directly integrated into the model.
claim
While an early version had no textures whatsoever , the more advanced version , which was also made public for the first time, used slate , paving , sky and brick textures on the houses. The house paint is not a texture, but a standard surface color.
Since the switch to the new light model in spring 2009, the quality of the presentation has moved significantly away from what was previously a comic-like character. Many scenes now have a photo-realistic character, another advantage is that the position of the sun can be freely selected at different times of the day. The new display method is particularly beneficial in that the model, contrary to many other city models, is not based on a rather simple geometry with complex textures. Rather, it seeks the opposite approach of a fully plastic geometry with comparatively simple textures, which is more in line with reality. For example, an exposed framework is really a 3D object, the infills of which protrude a few centimeters from the facade, and not a faded, two-dimensional texture. The effort involved in creating individual buildings is much higher than with the first-mentioned process, but on the other hand it delivers very realistic images without complex material and shader effects or post-processing.
The color of the model is as close as possible to the real state based on the data situation. Furthermore, it is sufficient in its accuracy, e.g. B. the ground level also scientific demands. This also applies to the scope: not only the front sides, but also corners that are not visible to a normal walker, facades and backyards are largely reproduced in their details by the model.
As Ott emphasizes, despite the noticeable technical development in recent years, it should still be possible to read that it is a virtual model. It should not be a substitute for the former old town, but only an "appetizer" to get people to get involved in the reconstruction of the real, lost Frankfurt city center. Despite the simplistic style, you can quickly find your way around the model, as the missing textures get lost in the abundance of details. Already in early versions of the model, former residents of the old town quickly recognized rendered streets and squares, which can be taken as proof of the degree of reality.
options
The virtual old town model has numerous advantages over the existing Treuner model. In contrast to this, it is easily possible to actually dive into the streets and alleys in order to understand the sight of the buildings from a human perspective. The model also makes it possible to reproduce views of hidden corners and scenes that were never photographed.
In addition to the production of individual images, it is also possible to produce complete films along predefined paths as well as the production of virtual runs - you can take entire walks through the former old town.
Technical data (as of April 2011)
- Software used: 3D Studio MAX
- Number of houses visualized: 1,694
- Size of the model: approx. 2.50 GB
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ When Frankfurt had 100 streets - Part 5 (March 8, 2009). In: youtube.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014 ; Retrieved November 19, 2009 .
- ↑ Streets with the suffix -graben, which go back to the fact that they once ran in front of the Staufen wall, which was built around 1200 a little south of it, are located between the area of the present-day districts of the old town and inner city.
Coordinates: 50 ° 6 ′ 40.5 ″ N , 8 ° 41 ′ 1.9 ″ E