La modélisation 3D, outil de transfert des connaissances Exemple de la réplique de la grotte Chauvet Pont d’Arc : la caverne du Pont d’Arc (Ardèche, France)

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

3D modeling, a tool for the transfer of knowledge from the cave of Chauvet-Pont d’Arc to its replica (Ardeche, France). Shortly after its discovery in december 1994, several important decisions were taken about the cave of Chauvet-Pont d’Arc (Ardèche) : the priority given to conservation, the commitment by the State on multidisciplinary research, the demand ranking to UNESCO World Heritage and implementation of a facsimile to a broad public to discover the outstanding heritage of this cave. This paper deals with this latter point. It traces the mind and the various stages of implementation of the replica (Cave du Pont-d’Arc, Ardèche). Worn by the local authorities (Ardèche département and Rhone-Alpes région) with the support of the State and Europe, it mobilized a large community of actors (scientists, architects, designers, surveyors, artists, sculptors, modelers...). They have joined forces to restore the spirit of the Cave of Chauvet-Pont d’Arc, with a strong osmosis between the graphical entities and the underground landscapes. From the beginning of the project, it was decided to place the works in their respective environment and to respect the geography of parietal representations. Given the impossibility of restoring the whole cave (8400 m ²), only parts of it were reproduced in the cave, focusing on the major wall panels. The problem was the adjustment of these different parts to recreate a cavity that has the appearance of the real cave and forced it into space of 3000 m ². The 3D tools have been used for the scenic design of the replica, the reconstruction of underground landscapes of the “cave”, mediation with the various businesses who worked that refund and the work of sculptors, modelers and artists who reproduced the cavity and the parietal panels. The paper highlights the different contributions of the 3D tools in the main stages of construction of the largest replica made to date.