From Artefact Representation to Information Visualisation: Genesis of Informative Modelling

In the field of the architectural heritage, the representation of artefacts, particularly for communication purposes, has benefited from the development of computer-based modelling techniques in fields ranging form archaeology to geography. But numerous experts in the above mentioned heritage field have come to question the readability of realistic models inside which the hypothetical nature of the content, a reconstruction, is not clearly assessed. In parallel, research in information visualisation has demonstrated that graphics can support reasoning as well as communication. Our contribution introduces the genesis of an informative modelling methodology in which the representation of architectural objects is used for information search and visualisation. 3D or 2D models localise objects in time, in space, and in a hierarchy of canonical shapes; they are calculated on the fly and deliver information visually. This paper discusses the underlying modelling methodology and applications in investigations about the evolutions of the city of Kraków (Poland).