Computational technology is evermore ubiquitous and influential in architectural practice (and related industries) as tools of efficiency and reproduction. The following work alternatively explored these tools for their capacity to operate as core agents in a creative design process focused on the development of novel sensory and spatial experiences via physical phenomena.

3D scanning is an inexact physical practice using exacting computational tools, converting physical objects into digital models capable of different kinds of manipulation, conveyance of information, and meaning. As an increasingly prevalent method for architectural site surveying and digital registration (a common step in initiating an architectural design), 3D scanning invites further investigation into its process, products, and their potential divergent influence on one’s perception of physical reality. Understanding that these influences can have a great impact on an architect’s perception and understanding of site, this research explored how the specific characteristics of 3D scanning and digitization of physical reality can be further expanded upon to creatively inspire and inform an architectural design process. 

Continuing from previous research exploiting glitches within photogrammetry, Lidar (laser scanning), and 3D printing towards an architectural output, this work delves deeper into employing different ways of using photogrammetry and its misregistrations to define specific ways of articulating physical material and phenomena. Photogrammetry misregistrations are defined as tool-specific glitches that materialize in an unpredictable manner in the form of a digital point cloud model that does not directly correspond or reproduce the registered physical object(s). These foreign perceived forms of photogrammetry’s digital “version(s)” result from the meeting of uncontrollable environmental factors (such as shifts in lighting or unanticipated movement during registration) and the predetermined (such as capture position, equipment settings, quantity of captures). As conducting a photogrammetry registration requires numerous photographic captures from varying angles and distances over a duration of time, the possibility of produced glitches is dependant on the variability of the uncontrolled.

This research applied photogrammetry to an actively accessed interior and exterior space where controllable factors are restricted to a minimum: the main capture tool (a digital camera), choice of capture point positions and quantity. The subject of registration was the main canteen space of an educational institution (the Kantinen at Arkitektskolen Aarhus). The Kantinen and the adjacent courtyard is an area that is highly frequented by students, tutors, administration, staff, and guests to the school. Common activities that occur within the Kantinen include the purchase of food, eating, studying, and meetings.