This article presents research activities conducted on several rooms as part of the extension project of the Grandi Uffizi Museum in Florence (Italy). The research addresses survey methods for monitoring the static performance and evaluating the structural plastic deformations of vaulted systems and architectural elements, mostly subjected to structural reinforcements. In order to achieve positive results, the most appropriate 2D and 3D graphic representation methods have been identified, to enable the realization of detailed, technical documents. Laser scanner survey activities have been executed along with photomodeling and extensive photographic documentation, crucial for the operations of photogrammetry and photomapping reconstructions. Post-production and data processing steps have produced substantial documentation of graphic materials through the development of floor plans, detailed measurements of series of sections, photomap reconstructions and 3D simulations. The thrust of the innovative research deals with the development of 3D computational models by implementing and refining reverse engineering processes for the simulating the static performance and plastic deformations that overlap the various stages of each investigation. These monitoring techniques have made it possible to determine the effect of the consolidation interventions operated, through a progressive implementation of the point cloud. The opportunity to follow the construction site from 2010 until now has contributed significantly to the enhancement and refinement of these detection and representation techniques, enabling the development of new operational methods with higher metric reliability to support the activities that such a sophisticated construction site as the Grandi Uffizi in Florence represents.

This article presents the ambitious potentialities in the use of digital methods and techniques for the documentation of the Nordic architectural heritage and environment.  The processes of knowledge, both theoretical and practical, should not ignore the traces of the past, old buildings and traditional constructions.  On the contrary, they should serve as a testimony of the past and provide a solid starting point for new, more coherent, sustainable and harmonic urban development. Since the Venice Charter in 1965 up to the more recent international documents such as the Declaration of Amsterdam in 1975 and the Madrid Document in 2011, both the verification of authenticity and understanding of architectural entities and details are getting more insight because of the current technological advancements.  However, the methods for the analysis and following these noble principles and declaration articles is still not defined well enough.  Each method and practical procedure with specific instruments produce also specific outputs and results, which need to be put in mutual dialogue in order to obtain useful results.  These themes are studied and developed in this article by presenting chosen case studies in research projects both on the urban and singular scale with the location in Oulu, Finland.

This contribution presents research experiences carried out on historic wooden heritage located between Northern Finland and Russia. Many cultures all over the world hold their own testimony related to historic wooden architecture, different in their constructive techniques and compositional results but at the same time full of common features. For this reason we can assume that wooden architecture represents one of the oldest building systems adopted all over the world by people who developed specific approaches in building with timber material while respecting local tradition. This vast and unique wooden world heritage strongly needs today to be surveyed and documented with a deep level of detail and accuracy by using the most accurate survey methods and digital systems. The contribution describes three specific case studies located in different geographical areas: The Unesco World Heritage Site of the Pogost Complex on Kizhi Island and rural settlements in Karelia (Russia), The Wooden Farm House of Lamminaho in Vaala region (Finland) and the residential wooden district of Raksila in Oulu (Finland). The research experiences presented have the aim to offer a wide viewpoint on how survey operations and analysis should be performed and which are the main strategies and procedures useful for obtaining specific results.