Virtual reconstruction of the old Matriz Church in Curitiba: Analysis of dimensions and implementation [Reconstrução virtual da antiga Igreja Matriz de Curitiba: Análise de dimensões e implantação]

Abstract

The virtual reconstruction of vanished heritage is now a widespread practice around the world, due to the growing capacities of digital media to replicate and interpret lost or inaccessible cultural sites. Each effort within this growing industry presents unique challenges, from data collection to final digital models rendering, encompassing into diverse media outcomes the results of the technical, historical and archaeological research. The present article describes the efforts to determine the probable original dimensions of the Old Main Church of Curitiba, a structure demolished during the 19th Century. The vital data about the architectural features of the building originated from a historical photograph, rectified after the dimensions of a surviving clock. Additional information was obtained from paintings, drawings, maps, and contemporaneous buildings, involving historical research, image interpretation and digital reconstruction.