The Conservation of Traditional Chinese Architectural Heritage—3D Modeling and Metadata Representation

Abstract

Using digital technology in conservation of cultural heritage has become a worldwide trend. Many useful tools have been applied to different stages of conservation for cultural heritage. However, limited number of researches is done in digitizing traditional Chinese architectural heritage. The study had two main purposes. One was the application of metadata representation, the other being the comparison of 3D modeling effectives to metadata representation between Revit and SketchUp. Literature review and case study were applied to this research. The study took the caisson ceiling of the Taipei Confucius Temple, octagonal with 333 elements in 8 types, as a case study for digitization practice. The results showed, firstly, that cultural heritage databases should be unique in value while many elements were similar in appearance; also, 3D simulations helped general understanding of architectural heritage, but software such as Revit and SketchUp, at this stage, could only be used to model basic visual representation, and was ineffective in documenting additional critical data of individually unique elements. Secondly, when establishing conservation lifecycle information for application in management systems, a full and detailed presentation of the metadata should also be implemented; the existing applications of BIM in managing conservation lifecycles were still insufficient. Results of the research recommended SketchUp as a tool for present modeling needs, and BIM for sharing data among users, but the implementation of metadata representation was of the utmost importance.