Virtual Reconstruction of Petrovskoe-Alabino Manor near Moscow: Research Sources, Methods and Technologies

Abstract

The article describes methods and technologies of virtual 3D architectural historical reconstruction by the example of the exterior restoration process of Petrovskoye-Alabino manor (18th century) located in Naro-Fominsk District of Moscow Oblast. Currently the object is ruined, the interiors have been completely lost, the facades have also been almost unpreserved and the park has completely disappeared. Petrovskoe-Alabino was a summer country estate built by Nikita Akinfievich Demidov for his wife Aleksandra Evtikhievna who had not seen the manor completion. Having not achieved its main purpose, the manor, despite its unique appearance and aesthetic splendor, did not become famous and left no noticeable traces in historical sources. The primary purpose of the estate determined its special architectural type that is "Monplaisir" which is not often found in Russia. The manor was ruined in the 20th century and is now unprotected. It has not been reconstructed before and all the studies at stake are rather art reviews than historical studies. This article emphasizes the need to preserve cultural heritage and record the current state of destroyed objects as well as describes the process of virtual three-dimensional reconstruction of the manor based on archival and published materials as well as those collected during the research. The work grounds on drawings, sketches and measurements made by professional commissions in the 20th century as well as photographs of various eras, text descriptions of the manor and a set of graphic files created during the process of aerial and land photography of the current state of Petrovskoe-Alabino. Not only have the buildings of the complex been reconstructed, but also the courtyard, the main park alley and the landscape of the main manor territory. The work was carried out in close cooperation with the Central State Archive of Moscow Oblast.