Sandcastle

A malleable 3D mapping system for pre-modern maps and views

What is the Sandcastle Workflow?

Outputs from "the Sandcastle workflow" includes both a technical workflow to help scholars create 3-D visualizations of premodern maps and views, as well as a research workflow that includes annotated bibliographies and a database of premodern maps and views.

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How did we annotate these chorographic views?

The Sandcastle Annotation process can be broken down into 4 main steps - create labels, outline a façade, assign the façade to tags, and link associated facades together.

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Database of premodern city views

Beginning in the summer of 2020, our team began collecting premodern "maps" that have been described using the following terms: Chorographies, Views (Incl. Oblique, Bird's-eye, Perspective, Landscape), Prospects, Profiles, Portraits, Panoramas. We collected our findings in an Airtable database.

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Inspiration for the Sandcastle Project

This project was inspired by previous work on "The Book of Fortresses" as well as research focused on chorographic views of London and Lisbon.

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Houdini and 3D Modeling

One of the most essential parts of the Sandcastle workflow is the development of 3D assets, which we have begun by using the 3D modeling software Houdini. By inputting annotation data and chorographies into Houdini, the Sandcastle team has been able to convert 2D images into 3D objects which will serve as the basis for future downloadable toolkits. 

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GIS and Chorographic Views

Chorographies are often created from a culmination of views of the area depicted, with several angles or points of reference being used to create an image that may not have actually been visible from any one position. The Sandcastle team examined this idea of mixed views by using ArcGIS to place several chorographies into modern scans of the areas they depict, and then finding an angle and location that best matched the image depicted with the chorography. 

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Code+ Presentation

A video presentation from the Summer 2021 Code+ research team, with the first views of historical maps procedurally reconstructed using the Unity engine.

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