The surveying and representation process applied to architecture. Non-contact methods for the documentation of cultural heritage

The constant development and improvement of laser scanning instruments together with the digital rebirth of photogrammetry (photomodelling) has triggered the operative and methodological evolution that in many aspects has already facilitated the acquisition phase, especially referring to the time required for the procedure. The present paper, however, investigates the methodological changes occurred especially in the last decade concerning surveying and its representation. We shall describe the peculiarities and articulations of these methods aiming at pointing out some conceptual issues involving measurement, interpretation and representation. The final objective is to construct an “operative critical method” which seems indispensable to standardize and regulate the procedures of data collection, elaboration and representation of architectural artifact providing results more objective and reliable: in other words more scientific.