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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architectural endoscopy | 1/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architectural_endoscopy | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T16:00:49.452107+00:00 | kb-cron |
Architectural endoscopy or architectural envisioning is used to photograph and film models of new buildings' exterior and interior in the planning stage. An architectural model of a new building in a 1:500 scale is thus correctly visualized from the perspective of a pedestrian walking by in the street. An endoscope connected to a video camera allows for the creation of walkthroughs, allowing the architect to develop the first draft further, and the public to share and critique the architect's vision of proposed buildings and cities.
== Nomenclature == In architecture, the rigid endoscope is called a Relatoskop (German), relatoscop (French), borescope, etc. In this article, 'endoscope' is used as a generic term.
== History ==
The endoscope was invented in 1806 by Philipp Bozzini, in medicine it was used to look inside the human body. In 1954, the Paris-based German architect, Martin Schulz van Treeck (van Treeck), was the first to use endoscopes for visualisation of architectural models. The endoscopes were his father's, Alfred Schulz van Treeck, physician and pioneer in otoscopy. He published the first article in the architecture journal Bauen + Wohnen in 1957, titled "Real model photograph as a new representation method in architecture planning" (Reale Modellphotographie als neue Darstellungsmethode in der Architekturplanung). In architectural design competitions, it is common that a 1:500 scale model of the building is shown in addition to the plans during the presentation. These models are usually seen and photographed from a bird's-eye view. Van Treeck was aware of the problem to mediate architectural design to builders and investors, when seen from the traditional bird's-eye perspective. His idea was to use the endoscope photos as base for drawings of the model and present these to clients or the public, to show what the building would look like if they were walking or driving in the street next to it. He could place the endoscope in a pedestrian's position in the model. Architectural models in 1:500 or 1:100 scale were represented in photos, and later in videos, the way a pedestrian would see the finished building. The endoscope became known among architects and builders through its use by van Treeck in the planning of the Orgues de Flandre residential buildings on Avenue de Flandre, 19th arrondissement in Paris. The four central residential towers of the settlement have different heights and are designed in the shape of organ pipes. They are called Prelude, Fugue, Cantata and 4, which explains the name Orgues de Flandre ("Church organs of Flanders"). Van Treeck used an endoscope for photography and especially video films, on models in a 1:500 to 1:100 scale in the architectural competition and further planning of the Orgues de Flandre buildings. He documented his work using an endoscope from the beginning. At the construction and architecture exhibition, Batimat, November 1973 in Paris and Constructa, February 1974 in Hannover, van Treeck and a company introduced the endoscope for the first time on a large scale to members of the international architecture and construction sector. In 1974, van Treeck described the endoscope and its uses for the Orgues de Flandre project, in an article in the German architecture magazine DETAIL. A French article by François Loyer is available online as a PDF, and includes endoscope photos of the Orgues de Flandre project.
== Research == In 1974, after the presentation at the trade fairs and the articles in specialist magazines, the use of endoscopes was examined at international universities in the scope of research projects on urban planning. For example, architects and town planners such as urban designer Carl-Axel Acking from Lund, Sweden; Donald Appleyard from Berkeley, California, United States; Hendrik van Leeuwen from Wageningen, Netherlands and Antero Markelin from Stuttgart, Germany; early on explored the use of endoscopes. The focus of their research was the use of video films in urban planning. For experiments, the simulation equipment presented by van Treeck at the fairs was purchased and, because of low funding, "model simulation systems" were built by the institutes for less money. This was done at the Urban Planning Institute of the University of Stuttgart where Antero Markelin taught and researched. The result of his two-year research in Stuttgart in 1975–1977, was published in 1979 in the book Environmental Simulation, sensory simulation in urban development (Umweltsimulation, sensorische Simulation im Städtebau). At the first conference of the European Architectural Endoscopy Association (EAEA) in 1993 at the Tampere University of Technology in Finland, the Urban Simulator that the Tampere School of Architecture started to build in 1978 was demonstrated. The system as well as the computer control was primarily developed and built by the researchers at the school, because the existing financial resources were very small. Petri Siitonen at the Faculty of Architecture of Helsinki University of Technology, spoke at the conference in his lecture The Future of Endoscopy, about a comparison between the use of computer-aided design (CAD) and endoscope in works made by students. At that time, a study revealed that endoscopy got 27 points and CAD 20 points. He also mentioned that this would change in the years to come.