We are proud to be working alongside Cliveden Conservation for The Wren 300 Conservation Project 2023
Wren 300 is a tercentenary celebration of Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723) - one of the country’s most distinguished Architects.
As proud partners of WREN300 festival, we have completed four different projects so far. Three of the projects have been 3D Survey at All Hallows on the Wall, St Brides, and St Mary Abchurch. The fourth project was to capture a 3D 'Digital Artefact' of a Sir Christopher Wren Bust, repaired by Cliveden Conservation for the Architectural Society
This article is showcasing our 3D Survey at St Mary Abchurch.
The church was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren, in 1681–1686. The parish was united with that of the nearby church of St Laurence Pontney, also destroyed in the Great Fire but not rebuilt.
A bomb hit the church in September 1940 during the London Blitz. The greatest damage was to the dome.
The dome was restored by E. W. Tristan, and work on it was completed after his death in 1952 by the artist Walter Hoyle.
The video below is a virtual reality fly through of our 3D Survey data.
This is a fine example of one of our best practice Heritage 3D Surveys.
High accuracy survey control was installed in and around the building - this was subsequently calculated with least squares adjustment. There is a survey coordinate system based upon the Ordnance Survey National Coordinate System. Survey control is the back bone of best practice for all kinds of measured surveys
Following that, the 1st phase of 3D survey used 3D laser scanning. The resulting survey data contains 220 internal and 196 external full colour laser scans. There were also 981 images taken of the tower and inaccessible roof areas as part of a photogrammetry survey. This was controlled to high accuracy using the 3D laser scan data. Both the photogrammetry and 3DLS were combined forming a colour point cloud. There are 7.6 billion coloured 3D points in this point cloud, all to an accuracy of less than 2-4mm.
We also captured a further 75million points using a different type of 3DLS, called SLAM scanning. This was used to capture the tight crawl space in the roof behind the dome. It was also used to reveal the secrets of the hidden crypt or charnel room beneath the aisles.