REVERSE ENGINEERING AUGUSTAN ROME

The study of ancient urban environments is hampered by the lack of extensive information on infill buildings and the technical challenges associated with the depiction of cityscapes over time. Researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles deployed procedural modeling techniques to address these difficulties. The project interrogates the first emperor Augustus' boast that he found Rome of brick and left it of marble. Using procedural modeling the team generated numerous geo-temporal, hypothetical versions of the cityscape showing massing models of both monuments and randomly distributed infill structures color-coded by material. These digital environments facilitated the study of building distribution, sightlines, and material impact, resulting in new insights about the ancient city and modes of digital analysis.