Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 26, 2017. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The Darmstadt 3D experts reconstructed the landmark of the city of Cologne with historical and architectural attention to detail, in three time phases. The famous building can thus be visited after the war, when the cathedral rose from the bombed city. Or viewed in the Middle Ages, as well as during the Roman Empire, when a magnificent villa still stood on the site of Cologne Cathedral.
Extensive Historical Research
Meticulous preparatory work was necessary to reproduce the cathedral as faithfully as possible. The team from Faber Courtial reviewed many original documents in advance and held numerous discussions with archaeological consultants in order subsequently to reconstruct the cathedral in 3D as historically and architecturally accurately as possible. Excavation plans, for example, allowed the team to reconstruct precisely that a villa stood in place of today’s cathedral during the Roman Empire.
Drones & Greenscreen
To reconstruct the cathedral from every angle in 3D with as much detail as possible, it was filmed with drones. Once the base model had been created, the modifications for the various eras could be made more easily. The protagonists were filmed in the company’s own greenscreen studio.
You can read more about Faber Courtial’s work in DP 02 : 17, where the team told us about the process for the ZDF VR project 360° Gladiators in the Colosseum.
The WDR app “360 Degree Cologne Cathedral” is available free of charge for Android and iOS.
More information at: dom360.wdr.de
