Architectural survey for documentation of cultural heritage with new sensor technologies

Ancient Istanbul, settled on top of seven hills, was the capital of Ottoman and Eastern Roman Empire. Today, with 12.5 million inhabitants, the metropolis is still a major centre for business, culture and arts of the modern Turkish Republic. Furthermore, the old city is continuing to its mission for centuries; offering the daily basic needs for citizens. This unique ancient city is in the UNESCO World Heritage List more, Istanbul has been announced as the European Capital of Culture for the year of 2010. On the other hand, the pressure of high dense urban-commercial areas and the effects of the nature are pushing the old city into its limits. With, these challenging tasks and motivations, the expectations from the local, national and international authorities are highly increased to protect the historical areas for the next generations. Currently, numerous historical and cultural heritage documentation, restoration, reconstruction, renewal and rehabilitation projects are in progress. To provide a good base for such projects, architectural surveys are highly demanded within the limited time periods. In this paper, the needs and provided solutions for such projects with the combination of different remote sensing technologies such as photogrammetry and laser scanning are studied and example work algorithms are discussed from the point of design, needs and results.