Digitization of the Nicolae Minovici Museum

A gem of Romanian folk art in Bucharest

Project information:

• 94 stations scanned in 3D
• 900 million points scanned in 3D
• 13 ground control points
• 36 reflective topographic targets
• 2,510 DSLR photos
• 1,457 DJI drone photos
• 9.5 million polygons – processed model
• 1.8 million polygons – decimated model
• Texture (generic blending): 8192 x 5

Located in the northern part of Bucharest, the Nicolae Minovici Museum stands as a testament to Romania’s rich cultural heritage. Also known as the “Museum of Folk Art,” this charming institution offers visitors a unique glimpse into traditional Romanian life, showcasing an extensive collection of folk artifacts that celebrate the country’s artistic and historical heritage.

The museum was founded by Nicolae Minovici, a prominent Romanian physician known for his interests in both medical science and local folklore. Built in 1905, the museum’s architecture is itself a work of art, designed to reflect the aesthetics of a traditional Romanian house. Minovici’s passion for Romanian culture led him to assemble a remarkable collection of folk art, including textiles, costumes, tools, and household items, which became the museum’s core exhibits.

The building is an excellent example of Neo-Romanian architecture, a style that was predominant in the early 20th century and sought to combine elements of Byzantine and Ottoman influences with local traditions. The structure is notable for its ornate woodwork, detailed carvings, and steep, tile-covered roof, characteristic of the Romanian rural landscape.

The Nicolae Minovici Museum houses an impressive range of objects essential to Romanian folk culture. The textile collection includes beautifully crafted carpets and fabrics, some adorned with symbols and patterns passed down through generations. The traditional costumes on display offer a colorful insight into regional differences in clothing, reflecting the diverse cultural influences throughout Romania.

Wooden furniture and artifacts also play a significant role in the museum’s collection, highlighting the craftsmanship and artistic talent of Romanian carpenters. These pieces often feature detailed carvings and are made from local woods, providing insight into the domestic life of Romanian peasants in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Digitizing a building such as the Nicolae Minovici Museum is crucial for several reasons. First, digital records and virtual tours improve accessibility, allowing people around the world to explore and learn about Romanian folk art, regardless of their physical ability to visit the museum. Second, digitization helps preserve cultural heritage by providing a way to archive and protect details about the museum’s artifacts and architectural features from physical deterioration or loss. Finally, by creating digital models and archives, educational resources can be expanded, enriching global cultural understanding and facilitating academic research in fields related to history and ethnography.

To perform a 3D scan of a building such as the Nicolae Minovici Museum, our BIM GIS Concept team used Trimble X7 equipment. The process begins by strategically placing the scanner at various points outside and inside the building to ensure complete coverage of the structure. The Trimble X7 then emits laser beams that strike the surfaces of the building and reflect back to the scanner; these reflected beams are used to measure distances, and these data points are captured in real time to create a highly accurate three-dimensional point cloud of the building. This point cloud data can then be processed using specialized software to reconstruct a detailed 3D model of the museum, enabling accurate measurements, structural analysis, and improved digital preservation of architectural details.

We then began georeferencing the point cloud using ground control points with coordinates determined using a total station and GNSS (GPS RTK) technology. This step is important because it fixes the spatial data to the Romanian national coordinate system (Stereographic 1970) and also improves the accuracy and usefulness of the 3D model for integration with other geospatial systems, ensuring accurate applications in planning, analysis, and conservation.

The next step was to capture photographic data using DSLR cameras and a small DJI drone. The drone photos were taken a few meters around the building. Given the difficulty of the location (numerous obstacles near the building, especially trees and cables), we had to fly manually instead of programming the drone to fly around the building in a systematic grid pattern. This way, we had to ensure that we had complete and overlapping coverage of the landscape or structure from multiple angles. This process resulted in the capture of 1,457 photos with a DJI Mini 3.

The challenge was to combine 2,510 DSLR photos, 1,457 drone photos, and all 94 3D laser scan stations.

This provided a comprehensive approach to digital documentation. DSLR photogrammetry provides high-resolution images for detailed texture mapping and color accuracy, enhancing the visual realism of the 3D model, which is crucial for audience engagement and educational purposes. Drone photogrammetry allows for the capture of hard-to-reach areas and aerial perspectives, ensuring complete coverage of the building’s exterior and surroundings, while laser scanning provides unmatched accuracy in measuring and modeling structural elements, creating an integrated, accurate, and visually rich digital representation of the building.

We combined all this data into a custom workflow using Agisoft Metashape. Ground control points and topographic targets allowed us to have complete control over the precision and accuracy of all this data and ensure that the model is as close as possible to the actual building.

This 3D model created through laser scanning and photogrammetry is an important first step in the process of digitizing the building.

The photogrammetric 3D model of the Nicolae Minovici Museum is primarily an accurate visual representation created from photographs and laser scans, focusing on the external and internal surfaces of the building, while a 3D Building Information Modeling (BIM) model includes detailed architectural, engineering, and construction data, providing a more comprehensive and interactive understanding of the building’s life cycle, including physical and functional aspects.

We will update soon with the 3D BIM model! 🙂