The Vaulting System of the Palatine Chapel: The Aachen Cathedral World Heritage Site Documentation Project

A novel analysis of the Palatine Chapel's conic vaults, part of Aachen Cathedralreveals a sophisticated VIII/IX century architectural solution. Using 3D point cloud data from extensive capturing campaigns (2022–2023), researchers reconstructed idealized geometric models of these vaults and compared them with actual structural data. The study highlights the precision of conic surface extraction and unfolding techniques, producing high-resolution ortho-images that offer unprecedented insights into the chapel's structural integrity and historical design. This method sets a benchmark for digital documentation of heritage sites, bridging gaps between idealized geometry and real-world construction.

Attenni, M., Barni, R., Bianchini, C., Griffo, M., Inglese, C., Ley, Y., Pritchard, D., & Villa, G. (2023). THE VAULTING SYSTEM OF THE PALATINE CHAPEL: THE AACHEN CATHEDRAL WORLD HERITAGE SITE DOCUMENTATION PROJECT. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XLVIII-M-2-2023, 119–128. https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-xlviii-m-2-2023-119-2023