Systematic Capture and Processing of Digital Documentation of Historic Landscapes to Promote Active Management and Broad Accessibility

Abstract

The project will use a LiDAR scanning tool to record in detail 8-16 endangered cultural re-sources in the park that could include: four structures at Tobin Harbor, three within Siskiwit Bay vicinity, two within Washington Harbor vicinity and nine on the North Shore, including the Crystal Cove assemblage. This work will result in a suite of deliverables, including 3D digital models, 3D prints, video fly-throughs and orthographic photographs for use internally in asset management and interpretation and for wide public distribution via park and NPS websites (See Figures 1-3). These select resources illustrate the typological diversity once present in historical fisheries and private summer enclaves, including cabins, cottages, boathouses, a nethouse and a kitchen outbuilding. We intend to apply laser scanning as a best practice and a better tool, mate-rial and approach to conserving buildings, landscapes and sites at the park. Our proposed inno-vative research will apply existing technologies to preserve cultural heritage by creating new re-search to protect and conserve architecture, archeological sites and objects, and cultural land-scapes of the park. The resulting products, 3D files and reproductions, can be used to inform preservation planning and interpretive programming. This work will lead to innovation in the preservation world, democratizing information by offering open sourcing of all data collected.

Personnel

Don Myhre

Don Myhre has served as the 3D Shop Director of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) for 27 years. Integral to this role, he manages the building and operation of digital fabrication facilities, i.e. 3D printing, laser scanning, laser cutting and CNC machining, where he teaches faculty and students contemporary methodologies. Don recently earned a company certification from Faro Technologies to operate their 3D laser scanning equipment. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from Rutgers University.

Christina Ridolfi

Christina Ridolfi is an artist and teacher and holds a BA in Sociology and Anthropology from Lake Forest College and an AA in Interior Design.

Both are corecipients of the 2014 Franconia Sculpture Park Jerome Fellowship. Together we co-taught three years of Bronze Casting in Continuing Education at MCAD. We have been scanning for over a decade and will provide the applicable technologies, a FARO S70 laser scanner and the computer programs to build and repair files. Also, we offer the opportunity to print 3D models. Projects that we have completed include scans of historic sites and cultural objects: Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center (Kirkbride Plan style), Fergus Falls, MN; Batcher Block Opera House, Staples, MN; Unorganized Territory of Fort Snelling which is part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (National Park Service Unit), MN; St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Saint Paul, MN; Gideon Pond House, Bloomington, MN; various Period Rooms and artifacts (one of which was recreated for non-sighted people to experience the forms and textures of the original object) at Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN; “Flower in a Crannied Wall” sculpture reproduction, Taliesin, Spring Green, WI and the Guest House, a Cabin and the dinner bell at Isle Royale National Park, MI. Our partnership enables feasible and reliable: attention to logistics, appropriate time management, application of unique technical skills, dependability and success in completion of projects.